SOURCE: THEBERKSHIRERIDGE

For each book sold through the month of May, two trees will be planted, with a goal of growing 1,000 trees.

New language surrounding the future of our planet — “Earth Day is Every Day” — is a good reason to celebrate. In a variation on this theme, local author Barbara Newman also has a good reason to celebrate: her book, “The Dreamcatcher Codes”, was one of the books honored by this year’s Green Earth Book Awards. In a bout of auspicious timing, the announcement was made on Earth Day, April 22, when millions of people across the world join forces to promote a cleaner, safer environment.

“I want my readers to look at the natural world through new, wondrous eyes so they fall in love,” Newman told The Edge in August upon her book’s publication. “When you fall in love with something, you want to protect it,” she said of her YA book, described as a love letter to Mother Earth.

“Each Earth Day, we bestow this award to children’s and young adult literature that best convey the message of environmental stewardship. We applaud the winning authors who continue to tell the stories about the environmental challenges we all face in a way that resonates with children and young adults,” read a statement from The Nature Generation, a national environmental nonprofit that inspires and empowers youth to make a difference.

The organization — rooted in reaching the nation’s youth through innovative environmental stewardship programs in literature, science and the arts — created the Green Earth Book Award (GEBA) 17 years ago, and promotes books that inspire youth to grow a deeper understanding, respect and responsibility for the natural environment. “The Dreamcatcher Codes” received its honor in the young-adult fiction (ages 13-21) category.

“This particular award means so much to me,” Newman told The Edge. “The work that The Nature Generation does with national youth aligns with my values, and the messages in my book. To be acknowledged by this organization is a dream — and to be in the company of these esteemed authors is humbling.”

The Berkshires figure prominently in Newman’s book. In the chapter “Monument Mountain,” she recounts the tale of a Mohican woman falling to her death from one of the “knife-edged summits … [marked by] a pillar of stone … [and] now called Peeskawso Peak, [which] means virtuous woman.” There is an allusion to the famed meeting of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville on the same rocky slope, and clever compass points (5.28 for Great Barrington, 212 for New York City, from where Newman hails). “I wanted to bring it home,” she said of the deep influence this land has had on her and her creative process since making her home here.

Every year on April 22, Earth Day commemorates the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. In celebration of increased awareness and efforts across the globe, Newman is donating profits through the month of May to a reforestation project with Tree Sisters (a social change and reforestation charity that places tropical forest restoration into everyone’s hands). For each book sold, two trees will be planted; her goal is to grow 1,000 trees, a Dreamcatcher SoulForest.

“If I was going to write about Mother Earth, I really needed to know her,” Newman said of her process not only writing but also getting to know her immediate environs — an invitation she extends to others, young and old alike.

“I’m thrilled,” said Newman. “And I can hear my four girl characters — Maia, Falcon, Ava, and Yue — jumping up and down!