There’s no truffula trees in Hawaii and, even if the fictional forest that forms the basis for “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” did exist, they’d still be (politely) unwelcome in Hawaii. There’s an interesting back story to a movie promotion being offered by IHOP in which the restaurant has been handing out Lorax bookmarks with seeds attached in an effort to emphasize the movie’s environmental theme: Plant a Tree, Save The World.

But in Hawaii, the state Department of Land and Water quickly recognized the well-intentioned but problematic aspect of that. Now the state has worked a deal with IHOP execs to get native Hawaiian seeds onto those bookmarks so the keiki can plant local varieties here. 

“Thanks to the quick action of DLNR and others involved, we have turned a potentially negative situation into a positive one by expanding on the movie’s underlying message of being better stewards of our natural environment,” Gov. Neil Abercrombie said in a press release. 

Read the actually surprisingly interesting press release here. Lots of details on how the whole thing came together and about the Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island nurseries that are supplying the local seeds.