Our tent under the Tree That Owns Itself. We took it down that night in a lightning and tornado storm and found refuge in a friend's guest house nearby.

9. Witnessing the Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History (Olympic National Park, WA)

Click the image to watch the Dam come down. We planted the first tree of the Elwha River Restoration project, where the lake is being drained back into the Elwha River.

8. Standing on Kayford Mountain, West Virginia

Joe filming mountain top removal site on Kayford Mountain, home of Larry Gibson and the Keeper of the Mountains Foundation.

7. Airboats and Alligators in the Everglades (Florida)

We saw alligators galore and covered a lot of ground, thanks to Mack's Fish Camp.

6. Visit to Grove of Oldest Living Trees on Earth (Bishop, CA)

Trees in Methuselah Grove, Inyo National Forest, CA

5. Full Moon Canoe Trip down Mississippi River (Clarksdale, MS)

A canoe with a view. Thanks to John Ruskey and the Mighty Quawpaws!

4. Wolverine Sighting! (Lake Yellowstone, Wyoming)

Not our photo. Our night-time wolverine encounter was over in a flash, but the memory stays with us forever.

3. Meeting and Interviewing our Heroes

Dr. Cleve Backster, father of bio-communication research, just one of the many heroes we got to interview for the Plant a Wish film.

2. Earth Day at Four Corners Monument

We planted in all four states in one day and re-vegetated the Four Corners Monument: Earth Day 2011! (Thanks to Navajo Parks, Al Schneider & Four Corners Native Plant Society!)

1. The Tour Finale! (Hawaii)

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa and his wife Ann joined us to plant the final tree, meanwhile over a thousand trees were planted through out the state on November 5th, the day of our finale!

Maui’s “Plant a Wish” Project Returns to Islands for 50-State Native Tree Planting Tour Finale on November 5th

Makawao couple to finish historic tour at home in Hawaii in celebration of Arbor Day

Joe Imhoff and Sara Tekula of Plant a Wish. Photo by Jess Craven.

(Makawao, HI) October 17, 2011 – The Plant a Wish project, a 50-state native tree planting tour and documentary film founded by Maui filmmakers Joe Imhoff and Sara Tekula, is scheduled to finish in Hawaii on November 5^th with a statewide native tree planting effort and celebration. Hawaii residents are encouraged to participate in planting events being scheduled across the state, or to simply plant a native tree in their yard on this day. The plantings will count towards the “Native Tree Plant-Out”, which includes a statewide count of the number of people participating and the number of native trees planted in one day. After the day’s events, participants are encouraged to “register” their planted trees on the Plant a Wish website. The couple hopes to make the event an annual one.

Plant a Wish in Klamath, CA

Since Summer 2010, Imhoff and Tekula have been traveling throughout the Unit ed States on a series of three “tree planting road trips”. They recently planted in their 49^th state, which happened to be Wyoming, and are now returning to Maui to prepare for the finale. In each state they visited, they coordinated with local organizations and a variety of citizens to hold community tree planting events. In each place a locally indigenous tree is chosen, usually donated from a local nursery, and is planted with the handwritten wishes of community members underneath, hence the project’s name, “Plant a Wish”. The trees are marked with GPS and left behind with caretakers. The entire project has been documented for a feature-length film the couple plans to release next year through their production company, Noni Films.

Imhoff and Tekula have scheduled their tour’s “finale” to coincide with Hawaii’s Arbor Day, celebrated annually with tree giveaways and events statewide on November 5^th.

“We wanted to save Hawaii – the best – for last, and to hold the tour finale at a time when Hawaii is fully engaged in the topic of trees. What better time than Arbor Day?”, says Sara Tekula. “Our entire tour has been about highlighting the great things that communities are doing across the country to leave the land a little better than the way they found it. We feel Hawaii is at the forefront of doing great things for the ‘aina and we’re excited to capture that energy for our film.”

Joe filming at the Wyoming tree planting event

The filmmakers plan to document on video many of the activities of November 5th themselves and encourage videographers and photographers across the state to document events near them. All footage and photos can be submitted to Noni Films for possible inclusion in the finished Plant a Wish film.

Over the past 15 months, the duo has “traveled over 23,000 miles around the country, organized community planting events in 49 mainland states as well as in Washington D.C., and planted many varieties of native tree with countless community members,” according to founder Joe Imhoff.

“The entire tour has been funded by the community, from hundreds of donations of varying amounts, from $1 to $2,500,” adds founder Sara Tekula.  “With the help of our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor, From the Heart Productions, we have been able to raise $20,000 so far. [Local Maui business] Skyline Eco-Adventures was our biggest supporter and main tour sponsor.”

Any interested parties who would like to participate on November 5^th by organizing a tree planting event in their area can call Sara Tekula at 808-250-4030 or Joe Imhoff at 808-250-1469 to have their event listed.

To connect with tree planting events happening near you, visit http://www.plantawish.org/nov-5 for a complete listing, which is updated daily as more events are scheduled around the islands. Contact information for participating native tree nurseries is also available on the website.

About Plant a Wish:

Plant a Wish is a native tree planting project founded in Hawaii that brings local communities together, holds hands-on native tree planting ceremonies in all 50 states, and will culminate in an informative and fun documentary film. Visit http://www.plantawish.org for more information.

Contact:
Sara Tekula, Media Relations for Plant a Wish
sara@plantawish.org
(808) 250-4030

# # #

Joe at the Wyoming Border

We are driving through the Grand Tetons en route to planting a tree in our 49^th state. We have traveled so far and accomplished so much in the past 15 months, it feels like we are in a time warp.  I am so glad we have high quality film production gear (thanks to Mom & Dad) that we have been able to use to capture everything. We have taken a snapshot of America the beautiful, and the people who make it that way.

We have been touched by people’s stories. We have inspired people with our stories, both personal and the ones we’re sharing from others we’ve met. At our planting events, we like to ask people to make wishes. One thing that all humans have in common is the right to manifest our dreams. Some folks were skeptical at first. Some laughed at us. Some cried. Some made us cry. The simple act of writing a wish, prayer, goal, memory, or idea on a scrap of paper and planting it under a native tree makes everyone who participates deeply connected to that tree. It increases the value of the tree growing in the community. The tree becomes a representation of everyone’s hopes and dreams living and growing into the future.  Sara and I have been honored to plant our own wishes in each state. I don’t remember some of what I’ve wished for, but I know it’s already starting to come true.

The total impact of this tour will not be known for some time. Once the documentary is complete, we hope it will be an educational tool that inspires people everywhere to bring back native habitats in their yards, parks, and neighborhoods.  There is a simple way to make the world better than we inherited it, and everyone can participate by planting the right tree in the right place. Throughout the Plant a Wish tour, we have seen many examples of hope and inspiration for the future. It feels refreshing to collaborate with others who “get it” and work hard to make this world better for future generations. All of these people deserve recognition.

This entire project has been made possible by the many people who believe in our mission, and have donated, shared their resources, shared their contacts, and who helped spread the word about Plant a Wish. We are almost at the finish line. We are very close to reaching our fundraising goal for the tour we’re currently on – the 3^rd and final tour. We have only about $300 of our $7,000 goal left to raise by the end of the day Tuesday October 11^th. That is 6 people giving $50. It takes a few days for the donations to transfer over to our bank account so we can pay for our rental car next week, which is why Tuesday is the deadline. If you can, make a contribution to get us there.

To give you an idea of what your generosity makes possible, here is a list of a few of the accomplishments from the Plant a Wish Tour – all of which was catalyzed by the many people connected to this project.

• Knoxville, IA – We planted a Red Maple tree with a small community at the eastern entrance to their town. Since we left, this community has demolished a nearby abandoned building and transformed the entire property into a community park and rain garden.
• Sedalia, MO – We planted a pin oak tree with a group of about 25 adults who have suffered severe brain injuries.
• Providence, RI – We planted an American Linden tree in front of the 1^st. senior citizen center built for African American Women.  There was no trees there, and now the ladies will be able to enjoy a nice shady spot outside on a hot sunny summer day.
• Long Island, NY – We planted a maple tree with a group of adults with developmental disabilities.
• Bad Axe, MI – We planted a grove of white pine trees with students at a newly built outdoor classroom at the Bad Axe High school. The trees were gifted by an alumni from the high school, who happens to own a plant nursery in town.
• Tucson, AZ – We planted a mesquite tree as a memorial for the victims of the Jan 8^th, 2011 assassination attempt on Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Family members of those who were lost, as well as survivors from the tragedy were present to plant their wishes.
• New Orleans, LA – We planted a cypress tree with the Make it Right foundation in the Lower 9^th Ward neighborhood that was completely destroyed during hurricane Katrina.
• Nashville, TN – We planted a tulip poplar tree at an urban community garden in a public housing neighborhood.
• Oklahoma City, OK – On the 16^th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing, we planted a “Survivor Tree” – an elm that was sprouted from the famous tree that survived the bombing – with 80 students at a local inner-city middle school.
• Four Corners Monument, AZ, CO, UT, NM – On Earth Day 2011, we landscaped the entire Four Corners Monument with the help of the Navaho tribe, Ute Mountain Ute tribe, and native plant societies of all 4 states. We planted 13 large pinion, juniper, and mountain mahogany as well as 48 other shrubs, perennial plants and wildflowers.
• Los Angeles, CA – We planted a California sycamore with renowned organization Tree People during an urban tree-planting event. LA needs less concrete and more trees!
• Olympic National Park, WA – We planted a cottonwood tree in Olympic National Park along the Elwha River during the largest dam removal in United States history. Our tree was the first to be planted as a part of one of the nation’s largest-ever land restoration projects.
• Sandpoint, ID –  We planted a grove of native trees and shrubs at Sandpoint Charter School. The school is now going to incorporate the grove into their 6^th grade science curriculum.
• Libby, MT – We planted an aspen tree as a memorial for the people in the community who have died from asbestos contamination.
• Standing Rock Indian Reservation, ND – We planted a bur oak tree at the burial site of Sitting Bull. Many of the trees in this area have been destroyed by major flooding that occurred earlier this summer.
• Wounded Knee, SD – We planted 6 trees at a playground – with about 20 children helping – in a community that is experiencing the most extreme poverty in our nation.

These are just a few of the experiences we’ve had with this project – something we feel has grown so much bigger and more inspiring than we had ever imagined it would be. The future ahead is also really exciting to me. I hope you’ll join us – online or in person – as our project reaches its finale in Hawaii – a special statewide effort we have planned for November 5^th.

And after that, we can’t wait to share the film with you!

Best wishes,
Joe