If only we had a machine that could turn carbon dioxide into oxygen. What a marvellous leap forward that would be in the fight against climate change.

Ah, but the miraculous machine already exists -- no patents pending. It is known as a "tree." Planting one, or two, or six trees, is among the most important steps you can take to help purify the air we breathe.

Trees Ontario, a nonprofit corporation founded in 1994, is dedicated to helping you do just that. And now Sun Media, Canada's largest newspaper chain and the publisher of this newspaper, is putting its shoulder to the wheel.

To raise awareness of Trees Ontario's vitally important work, Sun Media's newspapers and websites will match, twice over, every dollar that the agency applies towards marketing its planting programs.

"Trees are vitally important to our environment," said Sun Media chief executive Michael Sifton. "This partnership will help us make a difference in all the locations in Ontario where Sun Media newspapers are helping to connect and build better communities."

There is nothing quite so inoffensive, so quietly good, as a tree.

Perhaps that's why we often take their existence for granted. In the early 1990s in Ontario, between 20 and 30 million trees were planted each year. The spending cuts of the '90s, necessary though they were at that time, took a toll and that number plunged to two million.

Trees Ontario has been tasked with the difficult job of restoring Ontario's reforestation program, with a particular focus on Southern Ontario. The goal is ambitious: 50 million trees planted by 2020.

The benefits are significant. Landowners who hold 10 hectares or more and work with their local conservation authority to develop a managed forest, can qualify for property tax rebates of up to 25%.

What's more, the trees themselves are subsidized -- $1.25 or so per seedling, on an average cost of $2 to $3.

Can you help?

Please contact your area conservation authority, or check out the Trees Ontario website at www.treesontario.on.ca.