Woodchuck Cider Partners with American Forests

June 8, 2010 - PRLog -- Middlebury, VT – During Earth Week, 2010, the handcrafters of Woodchuck Draft Cider, located in Middlebury, Vermont, launched a Facebook Global ReLeaf campaign. Collaborating with their nationwide, eco-friendly fan base, Woodchuck Cider deemed that by the end of the day on April 25, 2010, they would donate a tree for every Facebook fan.  Fans caught on and promoted to one another on Facebook and Twitter, with just fewer than 2,000 fans joining existing fans on Facebook to help with the campaign.
   
By the end of the day on April 25th, Woodchuck had 8,432 fans, which is the number of trees Global ReLeaf will be planting on behalf of Woodchuck Cider fans (often referred to as Woodchuck Nation).

Global ReLeaf, the tree planting arm of American Forests, the nation’s oldest nonprofit conservation organization, will plant 4.8 million trees this year in 43 projects in 14 states and 10 countries to help restore forests important for endangered wildlife, clean water, and carbon sequestration.

“Since the planting of the first Global ReLeaf project 20 years ago, more than 30 million native trees have been planted in more than 600 Global ReLeaf restoration projects,” explains Gerry Gray, American Forests Executive Director.  “We are proud to include Woodchuck Cider as part of our corporate partner family.”

“We decided to make California our top priority due to the devastation caused by so many recent wildfires,” comments Bret Williams, Woodchuck Cider’s President and CEO.  “The growing number of Woodchuck fans in that area and the similarities between northern California and Vermont are striking.  Both places pride themselves on great skiing and hiking while having an eco conscious mentality.  This was an obvious choice for us.”

Tree planting will begin this summer and continue throughout 2010.

About American Forests
American Forests’ mission is to grow a healthier world with trees by working with communities on local efforts that restore and maintain forest ecosystems. Their work encompasses planting trees, calculating the value of urban forests, fostering environmental education, and improving public policy for trees at the national level. They are committed to reaching a goal of 100 million trees planted by 2020.  More information is available at www.amfor.org.

About Woodchuck Hard Cider
Woodchuck Hard Cider is a hard cider handcrafted with apples.  First crafted in Proctorsville, Vermont in 1991, Woodchuck Hard Cider now operates in a state-of-the-art cidery in Middlebury, Vermont.  The popular Woodchuck Amber is the original style produced and still today the recipe remains the same. That’s not to say some things haven’t changed over the years, Woodchuck now has an extended line up of styles and has grown distribution from one country store in VT to across the United States. Greg Failing, the original creator of the recipe and the cider maker to this day, combines both art and science with his own personal touch in crafting this award winning cider. The Woodchuck family ensures exceptional quality and premium taste are met in every small batch before any bottle or keg leaves our back door. A naturally gluten-free beverage, Woodchuck Hard Cider is also a favorite in food pairings and a key ingredient in a variety of recipes.  More information is available at www.woodchuck.com and you can follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/WoodchuckCider and fan us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/WoodchuckCider.