Collegiate Times

Most college students wouldn't find themselves alone if they admitted to deserting work over winter break and neglecting the study habits tended to so strenuously throughout the semester.

But the boredom, the spirit-crushing, mind-numbing monotony that ensues, can be enough to make one feel vegetative.

Instead of succumbing to this fate, Sigma Phi Epsilon brother and junior marketing management major Grant Gardner and his childhood best friend, Rutgers University junior Matt Cortina, decided to rise above it or grow out of it, if you will.

"We wanted to do something actively concerned with society," Gardner said. "The green revolution is really taking hold, so we started thinking about what would be most cost-effective and still have an impact, and what better than trees?"

Not only are trees cheap to procure, plant and manage, but their impact on the environment is virtually immeasurable.

They stabilize land, prevent dangerous, community threatening mudslides, and purify the deplorably pollutant-saturated air.

In December 2006, Gardner and Cortinia planted and cultivated the idea, which has grown from its humble origins in Flemington, N.J., into an altruistic, ideologically driven project that the friends call Planting America, Inc.

"It's pretty amazing, looking at our members and seeing how they found us," Gardner said. "For instance, this person from Iowa has a friend in New York, who told their friend, who went on to tell their friends at school, etc. Once you start connecting the dots that are all over the place, America seems somewhat small."

But no matter how small America can sometimes feel, it's undeniably huge, and Gardner and Cortina will soon be no strangers to that fact. They are scheduled to start a 40,000-mile, cross-country bike ride this summer to raise awareness and plant trees in 52 different cities along the way.

"The idea is to self-propel ourselves across the continent," Gardner said. They'll be like modern day Johnny Appleseeds, spreading green knowledge and hope to those beaten down by accusatory environmentalists.

Gardner describes Planting America's approach as "personality driven, because so many of these organizations feel faceless. We answer every email personally and are on the message boards a lot of the time. We also wanted to make this about what you can do, not what you're doing wrong, because that really puts a lot of people off."

To get involved with Planting America right away, visit the foundation's website, plantingamerica.org, or catch them at Top of the Stairs this weekend for their first Blacksburg benefit appearance.

Planting America will work with Afroman, a tried and true Tech performance alum with a green thumb of his own.

The concert will be held at TOTS on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.

Contributors to Planting America had first dibs on tickets and the remaining tickets are currently available to students.
So if you're itching to see Afroman, cross your fingers and prepare to be aggressive in line.