Students, Faculty and Staff Gear Up for a Special Assignment in Support of the National Week of Service

Students, Faculty and Staff From The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles and The Art Institute of California — Hollywood Gear Up for a Special Assignment in Support of National Week of Service - April 19-25, 2009

School Engages in Tree Planting Activity to Support Santa Monica's Greenhouse Gas Project

[SANTA MONICA, CA APRIL 16, 2009] - Students, faculty and staff from The Art Institute of California—Los Angeles and The Art Institute of California—Hollywood, will team up on a special assignment that will promote goodwill and valuable support to their community during National Week of Service April 19-25, 2009.

This year, students, faculty and staff from The Art Institute of California—Los Angeles and The Art Institute of California—Hollywood have partnered with The City of Santa Monica and the US Forest Service's Center for Urban Forest Research to help kick off the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Tree Planting Project in Santa Monica.  The GHG Tree Planting Project involves planting 1,000 new trees throughout the city.  These trees will be monitored by City staff with growth data  provided to the Center for Urban Forest Research.  This project will ultimately bring the City of Santa Monica closer to generating reliable information on its efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

On April 21, 2009, over 100 students, staff, and faculty from The Art Institutes of California—Los Angeles and The Art Institute of California—Hollywood will plant 15-20 new cedar trees near Lincoln Middle School (between the 1400 & 1500 blocks of Washington Avenue in Santa Monica).

In recognition of both Earth Day and National Arbor Day, City of Santa Monica officials, staff from its Public Landscape Division and students and faculty from the Art Institute will plant a pine tree in a public ceremony that will be held Wednesday, April 22, 2009,  at 2901 Ocean Park,  at 11:30 AM.  The public is invited.

"This celebration is a way for us to officially launch the GHG Tree Planting Project in Santa Monica, while also recognizing Earth Day and Arbor Day.  Our partnership with the students and faculty from The Art Institutes should serve as an example to young people  that  volunteerism in the community and  a commitment to improving our air quality  takes us one step closer to a cleaner and healthier environment," commented Walt Warriner, Community Forester for the City of Santa Monica.

"We encourage students, faculty, and staff to participate in this initiative and take part in a community service project that is in line with our own goal to become a "green" business and more sustainable as we work together to protect our environment.  This project allows our students and staff to participate in an activity that will directly impact our environment," said Laura Soloff, President of The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles.

"Participating in the National Week of Service complements our campus environment of serving our students and serving the community where we live and work," The Art Institute of California—Hollywood President, Gregory Marick said.  "Giving back to the community is always the right thing to do and we are proud of the work and support our faculty, staff and students have put into this important effort."

Students, faculty and staff from The Art Institute California—Los Angeles and The Art Institute California—Hollywood are no strangers to community service.  Both The Art Institute of California—Los Angeles and The art Institute of California—Hollywood have been actively involved in serving their communities by providing and lending design, media arts, fashion and culinary resources to local organizations such as The Big Blue Bus, Farmers' Markets in Santa Monica and Mar Vista, West Hollywood Trees Preservation Society, and the Los Angeles Children's Orthopedic Hospital.  Projects have ranged from logo and web site development for nonprofits, to public service announcements and cooking demonstrations for the public.

For more information about the recognition ceremony, please contact Michelle Estrellado, Director of PR and Marketing, The Art Institute of California—Los Angeles, at 310.314.6019 or via email at mestrellado@aii.edu

To learn more about The Art Institutes visit www.artinstitutes.edu.

The Art Institute of California—Los Angeles and The Art Institute of California—Hollywood are part of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), a system of over 40 education institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary professionals.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:  Michelle Estrellado
The Art Institute of California—Los Angeles
T:  310.314.6019
mestrellado@aii.edu