Tree by Tree - Plant-for-the-Planet

www.plant-for-the-planet.org
* The UN (United
Nations)
is a union of
many countries
from around the
world. Its main
tasks are: the
security of
the free world,
observing international
law,
protection of
human rights,
and the
promotion of
international
cooperation.
We are growing!
Many many students have already joined our cause. The high-school graduates
Gregor, Sascha, and Christian, who came to us from the Protestant Academy in
Tutzing, created a website for us, over 100 students helped us to send letters to
other schools. My sisters Franziska and Flurina helped me and also my parents.
Now the only thing left was to find a name for our movement.
On the internet I finally discovered that in 2003 the UNEP had started a project
for kids called Plant-for-the-Planet (By the way, UNEP is the abbreviation of the
United Nations Environment Programme, the department of the UN* which is
responsible for the protection of the environment). For a long time nothing had
really been done with this project - but WE wanted to do it and immediately!
Plant-for-the-Planet - the name matched perfectly with our plans.
Because everybody on earth has to work together, an English name for our
organization made sense. It is the only way we could guarantee that people from
all nationalities could come together. We children want our voices to be heard!
Incidentally, Wangari Maathai matched our start with the UNEP with the launch
of her own “Billion Tree Campaign” for adults. Together, the adult´s and children’s
campaign is called Plant-for-the-Planet Billion Tree Campaign.
On 28 th March 2007, two months after my presentation,
we planted our first tree in front of my school.
Shortly after, other schools began to follow.
Reporters from newspapers and from radios came and wanted to know more
about our idea. In November 2007 I gave my first large presentation to the
Rotary Club in Weilheim, Germany. The CEO from Toyota Germany was also
present. He came up to the stage and invited me in front of all the people to
hold a presentation for 1,200 Toyota car dealers in Cologne on 6th 14
December. I
accepted immediately.
15
Before I left for Cologne it became really hectic because I thought that I had
left the notes for my speech behind. After the presentation I finally found them
though -- in one of my socks! I had stuffed them there so that I wouldn’t forget
them at home … but ever since then I haven’t needed my notes to give a
presentation.
Our first tree was planted on 28th March 2007. However, in just a year I was able
to announce at a press conference that we had already planted 50,000 trees. The
story of what we children had done for our own future was reported everywhere:
in newspapers, TV, radio and on the internet. In June 2008, I traveled to Norway
in order to hold a presentation about climate justice in front of 700 children from
105 countries at the children’s conference of the UNEP. Afterwards the other children
in the Youth Board of the UNEP voted for me to join them. The Board consists
of 7 children, each one representing an entire continent. “My” continent is Europe
and my task is to explain to as many people as possible that we absolutely need
to do something against the crises with the climate, justice, and inequality, not
sometime in the future, but now!
Even in my wildest dreams I never thought that Plant-for-the-Planet would be
such a success! But a very important part of my idea was that we children would
tackle these problems together – including the fact that not only I, but also
as many other kids as possible, would travel around, giving presentations and
interviews, organizing information events and hosting tree-planting parties.
Plant-for-the-Planet is a message that needs Ambassadors!
Together we can
achieve quite a lot!