4-H Million Trees

The 4-H Million Trees Project was conceived after a Pacifica 4-Her decided to do something big to help combat global climate change. The goal of this project is to mobilize the approximately 7 million 4-H youth across the U.S. and Canada to participate in this project to plant 1,000,000 trees across the continent to help reduce atmospheric CO₂. Clubs outside of the U.S. and Canada are also invited to participate.

This monumental task seems feasible when it is broken down into smaller, manageable parts, including:

• Build this website at 4hmilliontrees.org, including a system to manage the tens or hundreds of thousands of communications between the 4-H clubs and 4-H units and the project.
• Build the network of 90,000 4-H clubs and units using the state/province, county, and local 4-H structure and existing electronic networks to quickly reach the individual clubs and units.
• Register clubs and units on this website when club and unit officers fill out the web-based form on the Registration page. Clubs can then visit arborday.org/4h annually for the next four years to become members and receive twelve trees/year at $1/tree. Additional trees can be purchased from Arbor Day Foundation at a reasonable cost. Please note that trees can only be shipped via USPS during their dormant period. Alternatively, clubs and units can use their resources or seek donations to obtain trees, planting materials, and tree supports, if needed. We believe that any day is a good day to plant a tree.

Our vision of 1,000,000 new trees planted by 4-H youth from approximately 90,000 clubs and units across the United States and Canada means:

• Native trees add beauty and heritage to urban, suburban, and rural communities across the nation
• Trees improve local air quality
• New trees absorb runoff, and bring groundwater to the surface
• Shade from these trees can help cool buildings, reducing air conditioning electricity needs, and eliminating pollution and carbon emissions associated with this power generation
• Offsetting greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion by absorbing and sequestering about 48,000,000 million pounds of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year
• New trees make up for trees lost to deforestation worldwide
• 7,000,000 4-H youth learn they can personally change the world
• 4HMT hopes to empower a generation of leaders by teaching them they can make a difference both individually and as a group.

We want you to learn more about this important project. Please view all the pages of this website.

• If you are a 4-Her interested in this international community service project, please go to the registration page and join us
• If you are a potential donor, please support us
• If you want to help us publicize the project in the press or over the airwaves, and please contact us

The sooner we can build a network of participating 4-H Clubs, and raise awareness of the power of youth, the faster we can start to improve the quality of life in our cities and towns, capture carbon from the atmosphere, and begin to make a difference for our planet.

We'd love to have you be part of our vision.