My Baby Tree

Via The Good Stuff, JWT Jakarta bring you My Baby Tree, a gorgeously cute web site promoting forest conservation in Borneo with the WWF. There’s nothing new at all in the idea (it’s been done plenty of times, such as in SL), but as I said the other day about keeping the WOW factor, executing an idea with flair can often be better than doing something completely new.

By donating $5 WWF will take your virtual tree that you have planted on the site and plant a real tree – in a very specific spot. Using the joy that is Google Earth, this spot can be marked and you can then watch your tree grow over the years. Of course, this is subject to how often Google update their satellite images from Borneo, a frequency not mentioned on the site. This is a great idea, connecting the virtual act with the real world. When I was in Australia I planted a tree but have no way of tracking it and something like this would be wonderful. A further thing lacking from the site is a way of seeing who else is doing it – just a forest of virtual trees with messages from the planters/buyers. This would help connect you with other people acting in the same way as well as connecting you with your tree.