Help restore the green grandeur of the city that hosted the 1984 Winter Olympic Games! Plant trees in Sarajevo.

Plant Trees In Sarajevo

Debbie Armstrong, 1984 Olympic gold medal winner in giant slalom is spokesperson for the Sarajevo tree campaign. "My role is to let people around the world know how important it is to plant these trees now," said Armstrong on a recent tree-planting visit to the city where she won gold.

American Forests launched the tree-planting campaign Global ReLeaf Sarajevo to help reforest the war-torn city and bring hope to people who suffered considerable losses in the past decade. Attacks in the 1990s forced residents to cut city trees for fuel for heat and cooking. Many of the forests that remain are land-mined and inaccessible to the public. Slopes in and around the city have been seriously deforested, creating a major risk of landslides. The war in Sarajevo was not only devastating for its citizens, but also for the environment. Now we are asking individuals and corporations to help us plant trees to regreen Sarajevo.

With the City of Sarajevo and several local partners, American Forests planted 20,000 native trees to stabilize three hillsides in the fall of 2000. Planting of another 25,000-plus trees was begun by 1984 Olympic gold medallist Debbie Armstrong on a visit to Sarajevo in October 2001. The overall goal is to plant 300,000 slope-stabilizing trees and 3,000 urban street trees. To meet this need will require the support of tens of thousands of individuals and organizations.

The trees for Sarajevo campaign was launched October 18, 2000, at a White House event. Debbie Armstrong and Mitt Romney, president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002, pledged their support. The event also kicked off SLOC's "Plant It Green! 2002" initiative to encourage the planting of 2 million trees around the world prior to the start of the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Additional partners and supporters include the US Ski Team, the Far West Ski Council, the US Embassy in Sarajevo and the USDA Forest Service. Recently, the US Agency for International Development announced it would provide one dollar for trees for every two dollars raised for Global ReLeaf Sarajevo trees through October 2002. Help Sarajevo receive these matching funds with a generous donation today. Donations can also be made by checks written to American Forests - Global ReLeaf Sarajevo and mailed to P.O. Box 2000, Washington, DC 20013