Meryl Streep Helps American Forests Plant Trees

American Forests
Tuesday, 13 November 2001

WASHINGTON, DC (November 13, 2001) – Academy award-winning actress Meryl Streep can now be heard narrating public service announcements for AMERICAN FORESTS (americanforests.org), the nation's oldest nonprofit conservation organization and a world leader in planting trees for environmental restoration. The new PSAs are currently airing on ABC, CBS, HGTV, Animal Planet, and dozens of local network television affiliates and cable companies across the United States. Streep recently recorded the PSAs while she was in New York City, appearing in a theater production in Central Park.

In the PSAs, the well-known actress encourages television viewers to plant trees with AMERICAN FORESTS by visiting www.americanforests.org or by calling the organization's tree-planting hotline, 1-800-545-TREE. AMERICAN FORESTS' tree-planting projects help restore a wide range of ecosystems including many that have been scorched by wildfire in recent years. The USDA Forest Service, a partner in the campaign, is currently matching every tree planted for wildfire restoration.

"I support the tree-planting efforts of AMERICAN FORESTS' Global ReLeaf campaign," says Meryl Streep. "The millions of trees being planted this year through Global ReLeaf's ecosystem restoration projects will help clean the water we drink, remove pollutants from the air, and provide habitat for an array of species from salmon to salamanders, bears to bald eagles for generations to come. I encourage everyone to join AMERICAN FORESTS' Global ReLeaf campaign and plant trees to improve the environment."

Meryl Streep has won two Academy Awards, as Best Actress for Sophie's Choice (1982) and Best Supporting Actress for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979). Streep starred opposite Robert DeNiro in The Deer Hunter and has appeared in countless other notable films including Silkwood, Falling in Love, Plenty, Out of Africa, and Ironweed. In 1999, she was nominated by the Academy for the eleventh time, as Best Actress for her portrayal of a mother dying of cancer in One True Thing. In 2000, the Academy recognized her again, nominating her for Best Actress for her work in Music of the Heart, in which she starred as an inspirational violin instructor in a tough East Harlem school.

AMERICAN FORESTS is proud to count Meryl Streep as one of its many tree-planting supporters. AMERICAN FORESTS has planted close to 20 million trees in ecosystem restoration projects across America and around the world. The 20-millionth tree will be planted during a special ceremony this spring. AMERICAN FORESTS' new tree-planting campaign, Patriot Trees, encourages individuals, agencies, corporations, and others to help plant memorial trees as living legacies in sites across America in honor of the men and women who lost their lives during the tragic September 11th attack on the United States.

For more information, or to contact American Forests, see their website at: www.americanforests.org