Feel Good Friday - Melbourne Urban Forest

We're starting this Feel Good Friday post with a trip down memory lane. If you're a fan of Dr. Suess, you'll remember his character the Lorax who speaks for the trees. Well in Melbourne, Australia, the trees have email addresses and they're speaking for themselves!

I learned about the Melbourne Urban Forest Visual from this Daily Good article by Adrienne LaFrance. Two years ago, the City of Melbourne gave an email address and ID numbers to the 70,000 trees they maintain so that people could report any problems with the trees. Here's why.

A quick read of the FAQ section of the City of Melbourne Urban Forest Precinct Plans provides the following information:

"Thirteen years of drought and water restrictions have now accelerated the severe decline of our trees. In addition, many of Melbourne's trees were planted at the same time, so they are now reaching the end of their life at the same time. Our research shows that we will lose 27% of our trees in the next 10 years and 44% within 20 years - that's almost 30,000 trees." In addition just three species (eucalyptus, planes and elms) account for 35% of all the trees, a lack of diversity that makes the tree population more vulnerable to future threats.

To combat this loss, the city has developed Melbourne Urban Forest strategies designed to:

• increase canopy cover
• increase urban forest diversity
• improve vegetation health
• improve soil moisture and water quality
• improve urban ecology
• inform and consult with the community

Citizens certainly have sent emails to the city to report problems with the trees as expected, but those emails have been far outnumbered by people sending love letters and other messages of support to the trees. Even better, the trees are writing back! Messages from the trees include educational emails about tree gender and comments on the Greek debt crisis. Not only are the trees wise (as I've always imagined trees to be) but they're also funny! You can read some example emails in the Daily Good article.

To send your own message to a tree in Melbourne, use melbourneurbanforest@melbourne.vic.gov.au and don't worry, if you select a tree from the visual map, the tree ID number will be automatically added to the subject line.

You can also show your love for the City of Melbourne by liking their Facebook page or following them on Twitter @cityofmelbourne.

Feel Good Friday - She Is ______ Project

It's Feel Good Friday and time to fill in the blank! Today we go to San Antonio, Texas to visit the "She is ________ Project : Empowering Girls Through the Celebration of Extraordinary Women". 

This public art initiative founded by marketing professional, Cassandra Yardeni and photographer, Kat Carey gives young women the chance to determine their own adjective by dressing up as real-life female heroines. 

Formerly known as The Isis Project, the website best explains the process: "The Isis Project... invites all girls, age infant through 18, to participate and pose as one female trailblazer. The photographs will be accompanied by a description of the heroine and shared via social media."

The girls are encouraged to pick a woman who inspires them and they've chosen a variety of women in science, the arts and history. You can view photos of the girls and their heroines in the gallery and meet some of the participants by watching this short video from KSAT news. 

If you live in the San Antonio area you can make an appointment here. Sitting fees are only $20! For those of you who don't, you can get the most current info by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @sheisprojectsa

Feel Good Friday - The Unusual Suspects Theater Company

I often perform improv on Friday nights, which makes me feel good, so for today's Feel Good Friday, I'd like to introduce you to The Unusual Suspects Theater Company in Los Angeles, California.

Their mission, found on their website, is "to empower youth in underserved and at-risk environments with the means and methods necessary to explore personal and social conflicts and develop self-esteem, communication and coping skills to make positive life choices and become productive members of the community."

Since 1993, The Unusual Suspects has worked with children between the ages of 9 and 21 who are in foster care, the juvenile justice system, gangs and/or low income communities providing a variety of theater programs. The main focus is on two consecutive 10-week workshops. The first is a playwriting workshop, which results in a staged reading by professional actors. The second is a performance workshop that readies the youth to perform the play they wrote in the previous workshop.

A review of the impact page explains that some of the changes experienced by the 300 kids who go through the program each year include improved self-esteem, communication and teamwork skills and decreased physical confrontation, drug use and gang involvement.

If you want to learn more, you can watch a segment about the program on NBC Los Angeles or a handful of other videos they have on the home page. You can support their work by donating cash or, if you live in the LA area, becoming a volunteer mentor. As always, for the latest and greatest, like their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter @UStheatreCo