Media & Press Office » Press Release

June 15 , 2010 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kate Davis
757.232.2526

 Join the Ride for Research on July 24

Cycle in America’s Largest Fundraiser for Tree Research

((NAPERVILLE, Ill.) – Registration is now open for the 2010 STIHL Tour des Trees’ first-ever Ride for Research (R4R), a one-day bike ride to be held July 24 to benefit the Tree Research and Education Endowment (TREE) Fund. The Ride for Research is a 35-mile recreational ride through Chicago’s scenic western suburbs, with stops at the world-renowned Fermilab and Morton Arboretum research facilities, to raise awareness and money for tree research, education and scholarships.

More than 100 local riders are expected to join 65 STIHL Tour des Trees cyclists for the R4R, cycling the final leg of the 2010 Tour together. The R4R departs at 8 a.m. from the Holiday Inn Select in Naperville and finishes up around 2 p.m. at The Morton Arboretum where the International Tree Climbing Championship Presented By The Davey Tree Expert Company is being held. A $75 registration fee covers lunch, T-shirt, rider support, admission to the arboretum and a tax-deductable donation to the TREE Fund. Registration is available at www.stihltourdestrees.org until July 17.

The STIHL Tour des Trees is the TREE Fund’s signature fundraising event, and America’s largest fundraiser for tree research and education. Proceeds from the 2010 Tour and the R4R will fund the scientific research, education and scholarship programs administered by the TREE Fund. Over the past decade, the Tour has raised more than $4.4 million for the TREE Fund, with nearly half a million dollars raised last year alone. This money supports a wide array of research projects ranging from improved disease- and pest-control methods to development of technologies that will improve the survival rate of newly-planted urban trees. The TREE Fund also supports research aimed at creating a safer work environment for tree care professionals.

The 2010 STIHL Tour des Trees is a seven day, 500-mile ride beginning July 18 at Chicago’s spectacular Millennium Park. This year’s “Chicago Loop Tour” will show off some of northern Illinois’ top attractions and most beautiful scenery before looping back to Naperville, home of the TREE Fund, where it will meet up with the R4R cyclists.

Sponsors of the 2010 STIHL Tour des Trees include Title Sponsor STIHL Inc., Crown Sponsor Bartlett Tree Experts, TREE Fund Partners Asplundh Tree Expert Co. and KASK Helmets, Educational Programming Sponsor The Davey Tree Expert Company, Gold Leaf Sponsors Ameren, Rainbow Tree Care Scientific Advancements and Wright Tree Service Inc., and Silver Leaf Sponsors APS, Collier Arbor Care, ComEd, Gamma Tree Experts, ITC Holdings, Lewis Tree Service, National Grid, Navistar, The Care of Trees, UUSCO and West Coast Arborists.  Corporate sponsorships offset the cost of food, housing and logistics along the Tour route so that funds raised by riders go directly toward research.

For more information, to register for the Ride for Research, or to support a rider, please visit www.stihltourdestrees.org.

About the TREE Fund:
The TREE Fund’s mission is to identify and fund projects and programs that advance knowledge in the field of arboriculture and urban forestry to benefit people, trees, and the environment.

The TREE Fund has supported research that has led to important developments in:
• Understanding air pollution reduction and carbon sequestration by trees
• Quantifying the costs and benefits of urban trees
• Improving conditions for tree growth in difficult sites
• Implementation of strategies to manage diseases and pests that affect urban trees

For more information, visit www.treefund.org.
About STIHL Inc.
STIHL Inc. manufactures the world’s largest selling brand of chain saws and produces a full line of powerful, lightweight, and versatile handheld outdoor power equipment for homeowners and professional users. STIHL products are sold through servicing power equipment retailers from coast to coast— not mass merchants. STIHL products sold through U.S. STIHL dealers are for distribution in the United States only. For more information or for the name of the closest STIHL retailer, call toll free 1-800-GO STIHL (1-800-467-8445) or visit the STIHL Web site at www.stihlusa.com.
STIHL is pleased to also support the work of the Tropical Forest Foundation, the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA), National FFA, Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), the American Tree Farm System (ATFS), and the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD).
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