Peter Grant backs our green campaign ENTREPRENEUR SUPPORTS OUR ENVIRONMENTAL BID 7 March 2009 - TOP Scots businessman Peter Grant has already received a presidential seal of approval for his crusade to save the environment - now he’s backing the News of the World’s Seeds for Schools campaign. Peter was invited to discuss his Globaltrees campaign - to plant saplings around the world - with former US leader Bill Clinton, who was impressed by the Scottish mogul’s dedication to the green cause. And last night the multi-millionaire businessman threw his weight behind the News of the World’s plan to encourage school children to plant new trees. Peter said: “The Seeds for Schools campaign is a fantastic way to engage young environmentalists across the country.” Peter - who launched Grant Management along with wife Colette in the mid-1990s - formed Globaltrees after hearing a lecture on the environment delivered by Bill Clinton in Glasgow in 2006. The magnate was so impressed by Clinton’s message that he began a crusade to plant trees around the world. In turn, the former president invited Peter and Colette to meet with him in New York to outline the work of Globaltrees. In the first two years of the charity’s existence, Globaltrees has planted 350,000 trees in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. Peter explained: “I was struck by Bill Clinton’s words. He spoke of the crisis of global warming and it was the first time I had seriously thought of the issue. “My business had been good to me and I just thought, right, what can I do to put something back? “It seemed a good idea to start planting trees.” Peter used his network of business contacts - including Stagecoach boss Brian Souter - to build momentum for Globaltrees and soon his charity was responsible for planting new trees at home and abroad. He said: “I was able to convince others that this was the right thing to do and we’ve had excellent support from the business community. “It’s so important that businesses start taking a stance in an effort to protect our environment. “As a business, we take our environmental policies extremely seriously through our charity Globaltrees.” And Peter has pledged to work with the News of the World in encouraging schools to participate in our campaign, which will see packs of seeds sent to every school in the country. Youngsters will be asked to plant the seeds and nurture saplings before donating the trees to local businesses and councils. Peter said: “We wish this campaign all the very best and will be 100 per cent behind it. “I will be a willing partner.” .......... Pupils length and breadth of the country raise money to plant trees! - Pupils from Portree Primary School on the Isle of Skye and Ibrox Primary in Glasgow have become the latest to take part in the Global Trees and Sun’s ‘Plant a Scottish Sun Forest’ campaign.The Primary 5 pupils at Portree Primary carried out a sponsored spell which raised £100 for the fantastic cause and pupils at Ibrox Primary school held a raffle selling cakes and biscuits which also raised £100.Global Trees Founder Peter Grant said “We are delighted that these schools the length and breadth of the country have taken part in our ‘Plant a Scottish Sun Forest campaign’! Thank you to all the pupils at Portree Primary and Ibrox Primary. It is great to see young people working so hard and caring about protecting our environment for generations to come.”.......... Jiggers offset through Global Trees - Scottish ceilidh band the Jiggers have kindly donated £2000 to Global Trees, to off-set some of the carbon which has been used at their gigs. The Jiggers are fast becoming known as Scotland's premier ceilidh band and founder Greg De Blieck said they were delighted to be able to donate to Global Trees. “Ceilidhs are all about good, innocent fun, but I loved the idea of giving an added bonus by planting trees for every ceilidh we play. It means our clients get to offset the carbon footprint of their ceilidh, so they can go wild and party...and still have a clear conscience!” Going one further, the Jiggers decided to make their donation of behalf of local school Ibrox primary, to allow them to plant trees as part of the Scottish Sun's ‘Plant a Scottish Sun Forest’ campaign. Greg added: "We wanted to make the first donation with the help of the pupils at Ibrox Primary, because kids love helping the planet, and it was great to see how enthused they were by the simple idea of turning money into trees." Global Trees founder Peter Grant said “It's fantastic to see that donations to Global Trees can be made from such diverse businesses and organisations. What a fantastic concept that the Jiggers have off-set the carbon from their ceilidhs, meaning the environmental impact they are making is being put back into planting trees! They are leading the way as a small business and I hope that lots of other businesses follow.”..........