
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 18, 1990                   TAG: 9004180151
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TRACY VAN MOORLEHEM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

226,000 TREES TO BE PLANTED

The Valley Beautiful Foundation has decided to give the Roanoke Valley some re-leaf. During the next 18 months, it plans to plant one tree for every person in the Roanoke Valley - about 226,000 trees.

Everyone from civic volunteers to juvenile offenders is to be involved with the program.

Jack Smith, representing the foundation, likened the greenhouse effect, the loss of forest land to farming and industry, and the rapid destruction of urban trees to a triple-edged sword destroying the environment.

"We can't take off on our white horses and charge around the world planting trees," he said, "but we can do our part to re-forest the Roanoke Valley."

Valley Beautiful encourages people, organizations and businesses to participate by planting and donating trees and by identifying places in Salem, Roanoke, Roanoke County, Botetourt County and Vinton that would benefit from tree planting.

First-time offenders in the Roanoke Juvenile Court are to provide labor for some of the planting in a related program called YOUTH - Young Offenders, Uniting Trees and Honor.

This pilot project, introduced by Del. Vic Thomas, D-Roanoke, was modeled after Target Green, a program in Kentucky that allows teen-agers to do environmental work to fulfill their community service sentences. The program is being tested in the Roanoke area and may eventually be adopted statewide, Thomas said.

"Not only are trees important, but children are really important," Thomas said. "This is not a program for thugs and murderers, but kids with minor problems." He said he thinks that the program will instill the participants with pride for their community as well as help Valley Beautiful reach its goal.

Ten youths have already planted nearly 5,000 seedlings in Garst Mill and Green Hill parks with the guidance of foresters. The materials were donated by the Forestry Department and local businesses, according to Rob Trickel, chairman of the project and a forester for the Virginia Department of Forestry.

Valley Beautiful plans to count seedlings and potted trees planted since Jan. 1. The number of potted trees is to be reported to Global Re-leaf, a national program that hopes to plant 100 million trees across the United States before 1992.

Valley Beautiful encourages people who have planted trees since Jan. 1 to be counted by writing to RE-LEAF Roanoke Valley in care of the Valley Beautiful Foundation, P.O. Box 0700, Roanoke 24004-0700.

by CNB