Free trees available from Arbor Day Foundation, Comcast

Wow. If you are involved with a school or other nonprofit that wants to plant a lot of trees, the Arbor Day Foundation and Comcast have a deal for you.

Did we say a lot of trees?

A group can apply for as few as 50 or as many as 500 free seedlings. The trees include several types of spruce, Douglas fir and white pine.

While you can't choose the type of trees, you can specify whether you want them delivered this spring or next fall.

The 56,000 trees will be given away in Illinois. During a special promotion, Comcast donated $1 for each customer who signed up to receive future bills online. The company and foundation say planting trees and saving paper both benefit the environment.

To learn about the program and register go to arborday.org/comcasttrees/.

Don't waste water or take it for granted

Clean drinking water ranks right up there as one of the most important basic products in the world.

If you filter your water, you appreciate this more than most.

PUR - the water filter folks - developed a low-cost water purification powder to reduce contaminants like parasites and bacteria. PUR's parent, P&G, is distributing these and education in developing countries through a program called Children's Safe Drinking Water.

So every time you buy a PUR product, the company makes a donation to the program. The company's products include the award-winning Flavor Options. These are pitchers and filters that mount on faucets. Each time you use them you can choose whether to shoot flavor into your water or not.

PUR plans to contribute $18.5 million to the safe water campaign by the end of 2010 and save an estimated 5,000 lives. But the sad thing is - also according to the company's figures - 4,000 children in developing countries die every day from illness and disease related to unsafe drinking water. Visit CSDW.org.

For blooms you can count on, try lilies

Today's the day for the bulb sale of the Wisconsin Illinois Lily Society.

The society promises to offer unusual bulbs at inexpensive prices at its sale at 1 p.m. today, March 8, at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

At 2 p.m. following the sale, Woodruff Imberman, society president, will talk about growing lilies and designing your garden with the wide variety of the flowers that enjoy summer in our area. Call (847) 773-0071.