Children Plant 15,000 Trees in Dizzywood’s Virtual Forest in an Event That Will Allow for Real-World Reforestation
For each tree planted in the virtual Dizzywood forest, a real tree will be planted through a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation.
San Francisco, Calif.—August 4, 2008—Dizzywood, a virtual world and online game for children ages 8-12, today announced that as a result of its players growing trees in its virtual forest, 15,000 real trees will be planted on Earth through a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation. The online activity, which aimed to restore nature and balance to large tracts of the Wildwood Glen forest that had been destroyed by Dizzywood’s notorious arch-villain and his ruthless plots to pollute the land, encouraged players to earn tree seedlings and then plant them in the damaged areas of the forest.
“This wonderful virtual event gave children real-world context by allowing them to plant trees and rehabilitate a forest -- and then see the impact, including reduced air pollution and providing a habitat for wildlife,” said Kevin Sander, director of corporate partnerships of the Arbor Day Foundation. “The ability to see the online impact of their tree planting, and knowing it will translate into an offline one, provides children with a sense of empowerment and a purposeful experience.”
“Dizzywood’s tree planting is a great example of how an adventurous storyline can cleverly weave a strong educational component into play,” said Ken Marden, co-founder of Dizzywood. “It is an opportunity to allow kids to see the wider impact that they can have by working together, as well as what it means to be a citizen of the world – in this case, a virtual one. We hope the kids are as inspired to see their online environmental activity have real-world results as we are.”
Dizzywood is free to use. Subscriptions will be available to access premium content in the future.
About the Arbor Day Foundation
The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation and education organization of nearly one million members, with a mission to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. More information on the Foundation and its programs can be found at arborday.org.
About Dizzywood
Dizzywood's mission is to inspire young people to use their imagination and have fun, while learning real-life values and skills. Dizzywood's creative, story-driven world offers children a safe virtual environment where they can explore worlds unlike any other, engage in challenging activities and cooperate with others, while developing important cognitive skills. Because Dizzywood's games and activities have endless variation, each experience is new and unique – keeping kids captivated and engaged. Kids are appropriately challenged with games and activities that earn players unique super powers and other creative rewards. For more information, visit www.dizzywood.com.
