Christmas Gifts that make a world of difference
November 2008

Corporate Social Responsibility is currently a ‘buzz word’ in the world of business, but taking this kind of responsibility on ourselves is just as important. Helping to protect some of the world’s most precious ecosystems with Healthy Planet (www.healthyplanet.org) is a simple and effective way to fulfill your own Personal Social Responsibility via gift giving at Christmas.

With Healthy Planet, you can sponsor conservation land and dedicate it to a friend, relative, colleague or loved one through Google Earth or Maps. This new environmental initiative, allows you to select any plot of land from within 77,000+ conservation parks and “adopt” it to ensure it remains fully protected during your sponsorship period.

It’s perfect as a Christmas gift; you are able to personalise the message, plus the dedication or picture for the plaque will appear on Google Earth/Google Maps through the Healthy Planet website for the person receiving the gift.  This happens instantly on-line when you buy the land which means you don’t have to worry about the gift being delivered in time for Christmas – you are also able to print out the personalised certificate at the time of purchase. 

More than 90% of the donation funds conservation projects in your chosen park.  Once you have adopted a piece of a park, you become the sole “Land Guardian” for that plot and enter an online forum with others contributing to that area.  You could adopt a tropical rainforest, a volcanic mountain peak or the nature reserve down the road. 

Land Guardians are kept informed of how their funds are put to work by the authorities and conservation organisations  working to protect the  park and are given opportunities to vote for certain projects to be prioritised, as well as receive annual reports and state of the art satellite-based monitoring of their park.  Akin to a “Facebook” group, these online communities are able to liaise with other Land Guardians within the Park, as well as receive updates from those working on the ground, bringing their charitable donation to life.

Adopting 1 sq km or 247 acres of a protected area – roughly the size of 140 football pitches – starts at £45 annually (or is payable in installments of £4.75 per month). 
In lowland tropical forest, this 1 sq km would contain an average of 58,000 trees.

There are also longer-term sponsorship options benefiting both the park and you.  For example, to sponsor a plot of land forever, the cost would be £2,225.