GSUSA, with 2.5 million members, helps encourage and inspire girls to make a difference in the world, including for the environment, making their new initiative with American Forests a perfect fit.
GSUSA, with 2.5 million members, helps encourage and inspire girls to make a difference in the world, including for the environment, making their new initiative with American Forests a perfect fit. Credit: GSUSA.

THIS APRIL, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) and American Forests announced a new initiative called the Tree Promise — together, planting and protecting 5 million trees in five years across the United States. But American Forests’ work with GSUSA dates back a century, to 1921, when First Lady Florence Harding simultaneously served as honorary president of the Girl Scouts and vice president of American Forests.

First Lady Florence Harding joins Girl Scouts of the USA on Earth Day in 1922.
First Lady Florence Harding joins Girl Scouts of the USA on Earth Day in 1922. Credit: National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress.
Harding, a vice president of American Forests, helps kick off a 1921 memorial tree planting initiative focused on trees in cities.
Harding, a vice president of American Forests, helps kick off a 1921 memorial tree planting initiative focused on trees in cities. Credit: American Forests.
A letter from Girl Scouts President Helen H. Means that was published in an American Forests publication from the mid-1900s.
A letter from Girl Scouts President Helen H. Means that was published in an American Forests publication from the mid-1900s.