If we were two trees, I would totally tree-date you

February 3, 2010 · Posted in Environment · 2 Comments 

Groupon uses “collective buying power” to score deals — basically, they set up a discount with a company and say, “Hey, if we promise you 20 people will take advantage of this discount, what’ll you give us?”

Hey, these trees make a heart. ISN'T THAT CUTE?! SAY IT IS. | flickr user saragoldsmith

This week is probably the least practical Groupon I’ve ever seen, but it’s sweet, in time for Valentine’s Day and it involves planting trees in the name of love. They’ll plant two, side-by-side, in honor of you and your special friend.

Plant Trees 4 Life plants Colorado Blue Spruce trees, the state tree, which lives up to 600 years before metamorphosing into a human baby. Your saplings, which can honor a loved one, commemorate a special event, or embody your affection for conical vegetation, will fill out the forest’s embarrassing bald spots, pump out oxygen, anchor the soil, slow down water run-off, and help maintain a lush ecosystem. While you won’t be able to specify your trees’ location, you can virtually visit planting sites on Plant 4 Life’s website. Currently, the organization is planting in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, with the first 500 planted by the Independence Pass Foundation.

(Oh, also, the Groupon is only good for about a day. In this case, there are under 16 hours left.)

And, of course, there are two sites that regularly make use of collective buying power for environmental change: CarrotMob and 1BOG. More on them later!

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