I will be forever grateful for the generosity of Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead. There was one thing we had in common: a passion for rainforests. And his commitment to be of service to them was grounded in the form of financial support for a number of US based rainforest non-profits.

Mine played out by offering occasional geography lessons for brilliant homeschooled youth in Los Angeles, who then put on their own benefit concert to help me buy the first trees given to smallholders in rural Brazil. The event catapulted an endeavor started by youth onto international platforms, inspiring children in São Paulo to replicate the process.

The project started by children’s bake sales and music eventually grew into a small non-profit, iGiveTrees, winning an award from the French Ministry of Environment in 2016, that resulted in our participation in four UN climate change conferences.

In 2023, three teams of the homeschooled youth, were able to attend the final concerts of the Grateful Dead in Los Angeles, Denver and San Francisco, to speak with attendees about the work they’d helped to initiate. That grand finale for iGiveTrees will always be treasured.

And, it’s all thanks to Bob Weir, who was humble enough to pay attention to someone who didn’t even know what a bright star he was, but loved to talk about the rainforest with anyone who would listen.

Kindness never dies.