Building on the “Take Care of the Earth” message of its international Take Care with Peanuts initiative, Peanuts Worldwide announced it will join forces with Planet Ark to promote the organization’s National Tree Day campaign, the largest community tree-planting and nature care event in Australia on Aug. 1.

“Peanuts Worldwide is excited about the opportunity to help engage and educate Australians –particularly children – on the importance of sustainability and the vital role trees play in everyday lives,” says Carla Neves, senior director, territory management, Peanuts Worldwide. “Planet Ark’s mission fits in perfectly with our Take Care with Peanuts initiative, and we’re delighted to be working together.”

As an official supporter of the day, Peanuts will provide “Take Care of the Earth” activity sheets for kids ages 4+ and plans for school grades K-2. Peanuts will also conduct a social media campaign about the importance of planting trees to create a cleaner, healthier, more livable Earth.

In 2020, the 70th anniversary of Charles Schulz’s beloved comic strip, Peanuts Worldwide announced a new multi-year initiative, Take Care with Peanuts, a campaign of caring that draws inspiration from Schulz’s strip and encourages people to be good global citizens. “Take Care with Peanuts” features three messages: “Take Care of Yourself” (focused on physical and mental wellness), “Take Care of Each Other” (community and philanthropy) and “Take Care of the Earth” (nature and sustainability).

“My husband was acutely aware of the importance of trees, and featured them in many of his comic strips,” says Jeannie Schulz. “He’d be very happy to know that his characters were helping bring this message to people across the globe. As Lucy said to Linus, ‘The planting of a tree shows faith in the future.’”

Peanuts previously announced a collaboration with the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation that was anticipated to bring up to 100,000 new trees to key areas of ecological need across the globe. This marked the beginning of a shared initiative between Peanuts and the Arbor Day Foundation, and for Peanuts, the launch of a larger tree-planting project across five continents with additional international organizations, which also includes a recently announced program with SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation in Brazil.

Co-founded in 1996 by Planet Ark and Olivia Newton-John, National Tree Day is a call to action for all Australians to put their hands in the earth and give back to their community. The initiative aims to see more than one million new trees, shrubs and grasses planted each year. National Tree Day inspires approximately 300,000 people each year to volunteer their time to engage in environmental activities that educate individuals about the world around them.

“We at Planet Ark are thrilled to welcome Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang to National Tree Day, where they will bring a new level of anticipation and enthusiasm to this popular annual event,” says Rebecca Gilling, deputy chief executive officer, Planet Ark. “Charles Schulz was an environmentalist at heart before most of us knew the word, and we’re so pleased that our initiatives will dovetail in a way that benefits the entire planet.”