Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:05:58 GMT

Buy a Tree for the Rainforest – Get a KML.

This is a really great concept! The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) offers you the opportunity to buy a tree which will be planted in a rainforest in Sebangau National Forest in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. In return, they not only plant the tree, but give you a Google Earth KML file in return with the location coordinates of your tree. Theoretically, as Google continues to update with higher resolution satellite and aerial imagery, you should be able to watch the growth of your tree (and the others who donate trees) over the coming years. To get started, you simply go to the web site mybabytree.org. They have a very cute animation that will guide you through the process, and you can use Paypal to make your donation. You can see the location and list of trees purchased so far here . Borneo is another location, like the Amazon, where rain forests are disappearing due to logging at a freightening pace. I hope WWF will extend the concept to the rapidly declining rain forests in the Amazon.

Watch a video they have prepared which explains the process:

via Adena Shutzberg at AllPointsBlog – she says this reminders her of the Star Registry where you can name a star after someone. I agree!

By Frank Taylor of Google Earth Blog. [Google Earth Blog]