Preparing the Trail 2010

Comprised of a community of environmentally active athletes and supporters, Preparing the Trail 2010 is running a national tree planting program to represent a symbol of loyalty to our natural playgrounds.

Their goal is to draw attention to key environmental topics, and to raise money for our Canadian Olympic athletes.

How Does It Work?
Throughout 2010, athletes and community supporters will come together to plant thousands of trees across the country, in an active movement to engage the public in a physically and environmentally sustainable lifestyle.

Learn all about the program by viewing an interactive presentation from the Preparing the Trail 2010 website.

The majority of the trees will be planted by volunteer athletes at popular outdoor racing events. The remaining trees will be planted through schools in an effort to drive the educational value of the program.

How Can You Participate?
Utilizing a combination of GPS and Google map technology, every tree planted is documented and made eligible for the Preparing the Trail 2010 Online Tree Adoption program. Once adopted, the tree is uploaded to a Google map found on the website, allowing the adopter to virtually watch it grow throughout its lifetime.

This tree planting program serves as a symbol of these racers’ willingness to take a moment from the competition of everyday life, take a breath of fresh air, and take the time to give something back to the Earth. After all, it is our terrain and climate diversity that puts Canada among the greatest outdoor athletic facilities in the world.

Preparing the Trail initiated a pilot of the program with a journey to the beautiful West Coast of Canada this past summer, 2009. Two hundred and twenty five trees were planted between Toronto and Tofino by “The Bonsai Movement Team,” a group of environmentally conscious athletes competing in the BC Bike Race on behalf of the Preparing the Trail 2010 program.

The pilot received positive feedback from both the participants and race organizers alike. “As the Marketing Director for the BC Bike Race, it was a great pleasure to be a vehicle for support and a facilitator of such a vision,” said Andreas Hestler, Marketing Director for the BC Bike Race. Dean Payne, President of the BC Bike Race also expressed his gratitude. “Thank you for adding colour to our event,” he said, an achievement Preparing The Trail 2010 will try to reach at every event throughout the year.

Preparing the Trail 2010 has since collaborated with other like-minded organizations, including a key partnership with Trees Ontario, a not-for-profit organization committed to the re-greening of Ontario through tree planting efforts on rural lands and in urban areas.