Scotties Facial Tissue, owned by Irving Tissue Inc., a Canadian-based, family-owned company, has introduced a curriculum to 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students across the U.S. about the importance of trees. Teaching kids about trees makes sense for Scotties, which plants three trees for every one it currently uses, the company points out.

Scotties has created this public affairs program encouraging kids to explore the great outdoors. As part of the program, Scotties has introduced the Trees rock! video contest, in which kids can submit a 1-3 min. video expressing—in their own way—why trees are so important to them, their school, and their community. The winning entry receives $10,000 to be used toward a sustainable project for their school. In addition Scotties will give them their own Trees Rock! rock concert and conduct a celebratory tree planting ceremony at their school. 

"We are a paper company—plain and simple—but we also know the importance of the environment," said John Robertson, Scotties marketing director. "We believe in sustainability and have made that a priority here at J.D. Irving during the past 50 years. In fact, JD Irving has planted more than 850 million trees in North American since that time. The Trees Rock! curriculum and contest is the next step in sharing our passion for trees with the next generation. "

The curriculum, created in conjunction with American Forest, consists of:

• Information about all types of forests
• The basics of photosynthesis
• Interesting facts about various types of trees.

The Trees Rock video contest centers around educating kids not only on the importance of trees but as part of a bigger picture of sustainability within the community as a whole. From all of the video entries, 12 finalists will be announced this month (December), and will go to a public vote to choose the winner.

The winner will be announced in February 2014 and the winner event will take place in April 2014.