David Milarch is showing us by example what can be done to restore the Earth. His Earth Day 2013 talk at Northwestern Michigan College, entitled Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and an Urgent Plan to Save the Planet will touch on the challenges we face, and the opportunities in our grasp to restore our planet we call home.
There are people and causes in this world worth celebrating. Brilliance and success are often celebrated, but I sometimes wonder if we have it wrong. Maybe the people we should be celebrating are not tech icons, captains of industry and entrepeneurs like Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, or Bill Gates. In a sense, these men have received their reward. But how about the people who do big things without a guaranteed payoff at the end? Meet David Milarch.
Students planted clones of the champion Acme Black Willow to reintroduce the tree into the ecosystem, and to help clean water and soil next to a parking lot at their school. They also got a boost from the knowledge passed on about propagation and planting of trees, and are participating in growing clones for replanting in the spring.
David Milarch believes that the genetics of long-living trees should be studied to understand how they have managed to survive and thrive.
Thanks to everyone at NBC Nightly News for broadcasting this story about our work. We truly appreciate your helping us to get the story out about our efforts to clone these great forest giants, and most importantly, to give new life to the oldest and largest tree specimens that ever lived.