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Oklahoma City ??" If you're looking for a gift that has the
power to change lives, Oklahoma Forestry Services has just the thing. A state
license plate featuring a beautiful redbud tree is a fun and unusual way to
give a meaningful gift that keeps on giving after all the holiday celebrations
are over.

These urban forestry license plates are as practical as they are
decorative. Each license plate provides a $25 donation to plant trees on
Oklahoma school playgrounds and parks. The trees are carefully selected by
professional foresters to add beauty and shade to areas where children play.
And best of all, the gift of a tree keeps on giving for a lifetime.

???All the money goes to planting trees,??? said Mark Bays, Urban Forestry
Coordinator. He said $14,000 has been raised from the license plates in the
last five years. He even supported the project by giving his wife a forestry
license plate for a Christmas gift as soon as they were available. Her car now
sports one of the first tags sold and she lowers her carbon footprint at the
same time.

            Giving trees creates an outdoor
learning laboratory while the trees shade tender skin from the sun's harmful
rays. The Shade Trees on Playgrounds (STOP) program was initiated by The Tree
Bank Foundation to help fight skin cancer. A generous donation from Chesapeake
combined with funds from the special license plates allowed Ardmore, Yukon,
Thunderbird State Park and several schools to plant large caliper shade trees
in the project's first year.

            Keep Oklahoma Beautiful recognized
Oklahoma Forestry Services, the Tree Bank Foundation and Chesapeake with a
special Team Builders Award at this year's annual Environmental Excellence
Celebration. The project was honored for its unique nature and using teamwork
to reach its goals.

            Future plans include more schools
and communities where shade is desperately needed. The trees have a huge impact
in local neighborhoods and help instill a sense of pride and belonging.

            Oklahoma Forestry Services is a
division of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

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Suggested
photo caption: Mark Bays, Urban Forestry Coordinator for Oklahoma Forestry
Services, puts a forestry license plate in the Christmas stocking of someone
who's been nice.