Digging in Dirt, Arbor Day Planting, May Help Build Citizenship: UMD Study

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/uniini/release.cfm?ArticleID=2418

For Immediate Release
April 29, 2011
Contacts: Neil Tickner, 301 405 4622 or [e-mail]

Digging in Dirt, Arbor Day Planting, May Help Build Citizenship: UMD Study

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Digging in the ground to plant trees may be an excellent gateway to further involvement in politics and civic affairs, concludes a new University of Maryland study, based on work with New York City environmental volunteers.

"The more a person is involved in environmental stewardship, the more s/he engages with other types of civic and political activities," says the report, http://newsdesk.umd.edu/pdfs/2011/digging_together.pdf">Digging Together, which the researchers released to coincide with Arbor Day.

The study finds that participants in the http://www.milliontreesnyc.org/html/home/home.shtml">MillionTreesNYC project are significantly more active civically than other New Yorkers and other Americans. This is especially true among the veteran volunteers, suggesting that environmental stewardship bears fruit in other civic arenas.

"Getting off the couch and doing a real activity is infectious and frequently leads to additional civic involvement," says Principal Investigator http://www.bsos.umd.edu/socy/drfisher">Dana R. Fisher, a University of Maryland sociologist who directs the new Center for Society and the Environment. "Digging in the dirt seems to be an excellent pathway to greater involvement."

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The team is reporting its findings as a white paper. A full copy is available online http://newsdesk.umd.edu/pdfs/2011/digging_together.pdf">here.

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[FSogol]

1. K & R. n/t

[LiberalEsto]

2. I planted 7 baby trees a couple of weeks ago

These were among the 10 free baby trees you get when you join the National Arbor Day Foundation.

Two redbuds, two white dogwoods, two crape myrtles and a hawthorn. I hope they make it.

We planted some trees from the foundation 8 or 9 years ago. Not all survived, but there's a red maple, kousa dogwood, Sargent crabapple and a pair of hybrid chestnuts (a cross of American and Chinese chestnuts that's supposed to bear edible nuts when they get a little older).

Arbor Dy Foundation website http://www.arborday.org/

You get 10 free trees with a $10 membership, or you can choose to have 10 trees planted in one of the nation's forests instead.

Happy Arbor Day!

[Fledermaus]

3. Cool!