Give a gift and help restore a forest

Celebrate the holiday season with friends and loved ones this year and give back to the earth at the same time with the help of the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation.

"The holidays are a time for thinking about others, and as you do take a moment to think about what you can do to protect the beauty and splendor of the earth," said John Rosenow, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation.

"We encourage everyone to give gifts that will have a lasting impact on the world for generations to come."

Send holiday greetings and plant a tree - all at the same time - by using the Foundation's Give-A-Tree Cards. With every card, a tree is planted in one of our nation's forests in honor of the recipient. By sending Give-A-Tree Cards, you are helping to replant forests that have been devastated by wildfires, insects and disease. Give-A-Tree holiday cards come in 21 varieties, some of which are available in boxed sets.

This year, you can send Give-A-Tree Cards using your favorite picture with the foundation's new photo cards. There are 20 holiday cards to choose from as well.

When you give the gift of Arbor Day Specialty Coffee, you're helping to preserve the earth's precious rain forests. Arbor Day Specialty Coffee is shade-grown, organic and Fair Trade Certified. It gets its rich taste from the shade of the rain forest, and is part of the Foundation's Rain Forest Rescue program. Each cup of Arbor Day Specialty Coffee helps preserve a portion of the rain forest.

The Foundation's Trees in Celebration program allows the giver to honor loved ones while at the same time making a positive impact on the environment. Trees in Celebration includes a certificate for the recipient, and for each dollar donated a tree is planted in a damaged forest.

Give special friends a membership to the Arbor Day Foundation, and they will also receive 10 free trees. A membership costs $10, and includes many great benefits, including 10 free trees that will be shipped at the right time of year for planting.

To purchase holiday gifts that give back to the earth, go to www.arborday.org.