Tracy Launches Olympic Environment Program WOA Kids4Trees

Tracy Mattes plants a tree with one of the students in Los Padres National Park near Pine Mountain Resort and
Smokey the Bear joined in the fun with the children as they planted their trees in the forest.

After more than a year of working to put the program together, on March 26th in Malibu, California, World Olympians Association (WOA) Director of Global Programs, Tracy Mattes, with the help of Kids4Trees Executive director Steve Redner and the USDA Forest Service, successfully launched a new Olympic Environment program called WOA-Kids4Trees.

Malibu

Tracy Mattes, Chris Soule and Reynoldo Brown speak to the children about
sport and the environment at Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School in Malibu

Approximately 300 children at Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School were divided into three workshops, including sessions with California Olympians speaking about the importance of sport and the environment, followed by an interactive lesson about the vital importance of trees and learning to plant them properly.

Students plant trees at the WOA Kids4 Trees Event at Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School in Malibu

Reynoldo Brown, Tracy Mattes, and Chris Soule plant trees with the children at Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School in Malibu

The primary goal of the program is to create young stewards of the forest by educating and empowering elementary school students to be an active part of the solution to environmental concerns in their communities. The festivities included tree songs from the Kids4Trees CD, children's singers, and tree information kits.

Students sing songs about trees at the WOA Kids4 Trees Event at Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School in Malibu

Students learn about trees from Karen Fortus

Tracy Mattes, Chris Soule and Reynaldo Brown had fun speaking to the children at Pointe Dume Marine Science Elementary School in Malibu

Reynoldo Brown, who competed in the 1968 Olympics in the High Jump, spoke with the students about the importance of setting goals, advising: "You need to start now setting goals for yourself and taking care of the world around you. We are happy to be here planting trees with all of you." Chris Soule, who fascinated the children with breathtaking stories of his Olympic experiences in Salt Lake City and Torino, competing in the Skeleton, gave advice on how to overcome obstacles when chasing their dreams. Tracy Mattes, who is Director of Global Programs for the World Olympians Association, talked about the values of Olympism and how children can be powerful agents of change in environmental causes, especially when they inspire their friends and family members to get involved, as well.

Tracy Mattes, Chris Soule and Reynoldo Brown talked to the children about sport and the environment, planted trees, answered questions, and even signed some autographs at Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School in Malibu

Los Padres National Forest

Tracy Mattes plants a tree with a Boy Scout at the WOA Kids4Trees Event in Los Padres National Park near Pine Mountain Resort

Following the successful launch in Malibu, the WOA Kids4Trees program continued in Southern California's Los Padres National Park near Pine Mountain Resort on April 9th and 10th.

More than 300 Kern County school children attended Friday's WOA Kids4Trees program and another 70+ scouts joined in on Saturday. Between 300 and 400 seedlings were planted in Apache Saddle on Friday and about 250 - 300 more were planted Saturday near the Boy Scout camp on Mil Portero Highway. To add a new element to this planting, US Veterans joined in the planting with Veterans for Trees. They spoke to the children about keeping their country a clean and safe environment.

Kids4Trees Executive Director Steve Redner with the children at the WOA Kids4Trees Event in Los Padres National Park near Pine Mountain Resort

One of the students plants a tree

Photos: (1) The children planted more than 600 trees in Los Padres National Park near Pine Mountain Resort, (2) Tracy Mattes plants trees
with the children and one of the Forest Rangers. (3) These two girls planted their trees with care

WOA is actively and fully participating in the Kids4Trees program in North America and Africa, helping to expand greater awareness to young people about the importance of our trees in particular and the environment in general. Equally important, Olympians reach out to the youth in the community, as the conservation message is extended to parents, families and friends.

"We are very happy about the success of these first tree planting events," says Mattes. "We've received such positive feedback from the schools, the forest rangers, the scouts, the parents and the communities. Its great to see this amazing momentum building and we want to keep it going as we take WOA Kids4Trees to one final event in Southern California on Friday and then to the East Coast of the US in the coming weeks. Our goal was to successfully launch this program in the United States, then take it global in 2011, the United Nations Year of the Forest. Olympians around the world will be taking part in the WOA Kids4Trees Program in 2011. We are right on course to where we want to go and that's exciting, especially with a brand new program!"

The US Veterans joined in the planting with the kids in Los Padres National Park near Pine Mountain Resort

Reynaldo Brown and Tracy Mattes speak to the children after a tree planting in Los Padres National Park near Pine Mountain Resort

Singers played songs from the Kids4Trees CD as the children joined along at Los Padres National Park near Pine Mountain Resort

The next tree plantings scheduled for Southern California will be at Juan Cabrillo Elementary school on April 16. All plantings will include education about trees, biodiversity, water, and animals, together with Tree Kits, multilingual tree songs from the Kids4Trees CD, art, and children's singers.

The 2010 Spring Schedule will involve approximately 15,000 students and Scouts and more than 30,000 trees to be planted by the 6-12 year olds as part of the Kids4Trees program, the participation of the Olympians, Forest Service personnel, and local volunteer organizations. Now in planning for the 2011 United Nations Year of the Forests is a WOA/Kids4Trees program which will circle the globe throughout the year.

Newslinks:

Sports Features: http://www.sportsfeatures.com/olympicsnews/story/46683/woa-contributes-olympians-sporting-flavour-to-the-kids4trees-message

World Olympians News: http://www.woaolympians.com/newsitem.php?id=671

Malibu Times: http://www.malibutimes.com/articles/2010/03/31/malibu_life/people/people5.txt

Olympic News: http://www.olympics-now.com/2010/03/27/woa-contributes-olympians-sporting-flavour-to-the-kids4trees-message/

Mountian Enterprise: http://mountainenterprise.com/atf.php?sid=6771¤t_edition=2010-04-16