Earth Day Network Contributes $25,000 To High Atlas Foundation's One Million Tree Campaign
On June 18th, the Earth Day Network announced a $25,000 contribution to the High Atlas Foundation's One Million Tree Campaign during a reception hosted by Moroccan Ambassador Aziz Mekouar in Bethesda, Maryland.
- (1888PressRelease) July 17, 2010 - The Moroccan Ambassador to the United States hosted the reception in his home to honor the contributions of the High Atlas Foundation to rural development in Morocco. Yossef Ben-Meir, president of the High Atlas Foundation, said, "the High Atlas Foundation aims to raise $200,000 to plant 200,000 fruit trees in rural areas in 2011. Earth Day's contribution represents a major milestone in meeting that goal."
The Foundation's goal for 2011 is part of the One Million Tree Campaign launched by the Foundation in 2006. Every dollar contributed will buy a sapling, according to Ben-Meir. The campaign was conceived to develop income for rural Moroccan communities in mountainous areas where traditional crops (barley and corn) were not producing enough food to feed the communities. In addition to providing higher value cash crops for mountain communities, the trees help to prevent erosion, which is a serious problem caused by annual flooding. Tree plantings on terraces also help prevent desertification and offset carbon emissions.
To date, the High Atlas Foundation has planted 200,000 fruit trees, benefitting 25,000 people in six provinces.
The High Atlas Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works to establish development projects in rural communities of Morocco that local people design and manage, and that are in partnership with government and non-government agencies. It was founded by former Peace Corps Volunteers as a way to use their experience and knowledge gained for the continued benefit of the Moroccan people. The High Atlas Foundation currently supports projects in the areas of fruit tree agriculture, clean drinking water, irrigation, participatory training, women's cooperatives, and youth development.
For more information and to view photos of the One Million Tree Campaign please visit: www.highatlasfoundation.org.
Contact: Suzanne Baazet, Vice President
Tel. U.S. (001) 646-688-2946 • Morocco (212) (0)523 32 62 87
suzanne ( @ ) highatlasfoundation dot org
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