Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards will be canvassing the state this weekend, talking to voters about Edwards's environmental policy and passing out 8,000 white spruce seedlings ready for planting.

The saplings are the latest in a string of service projects incorporated in the Edwards campaign this summer in an effort to drive home a message that Edwards returns to again and again on the trail, that change doesn't start in the capital. Through the end of the month, people who donate to the campaign will be entered into a drawing to be one of five supporters to fly with Edwards to New Orleans and work on a rebuilding project alongside him.

While some voters may see the efforts as gimmicks, the service projects could drive others - particularly voters under 25 - to the polls, analysts said.

Wayne Lesperance, associate professor of political science at New England College, said Edwards's approach targets an important group of voters.

"It is absolutely designed to appeal particularly to young people," Lesperance said. "We know that young people, while their voting numbers are lower than other groups - 18 to 25 year olds - we know that their willingness to volunteer is highest."

Edwards's service projects have arguably been the most visible of any candidate's in the Democratic primary. He announced his second bid for the presidency from the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, where he had previously organized college volunteers to work on rebuilding. The trip there with supporters sometime before the primary - no date is set - could create more publicity featuring Edwards in a work shirt and tool belt.

This summer, the campaign collected about 1,000 cans of food and 60 boxes of school supplies from people attending house parties with the Edwardses and other events around the state this summer. They distributed them to soup kitchens and schools across the state, including The Friendly Kitchen in Concord and Beech Street Elementary in Manchester.

Spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield said this weekend's event reflects a melding of missions between the grassroots campaign and the community service network the Edwards started called One Corps - to do good and get the message out.

The idea for the saplings came from campaign manager David Bonior, who handed out 70,000 saplings while running for Congress in Michigan in 1976. After he took office, he continued the tradition through his 26 years as congressman. The original saplings are more than 50 feet tall, he said.

"You just can't do it (create change) from the oval office," Bonior said. "It's got to be done in the neighborhoods and people can start in their own backyards."

Other campaigns have done community service, too. People working on campaigns for Chris Dodd and Barack Obama, for example, attended a day of service hosted by City Year this summer. Obama's campaign staff and volunteers are also donating cans of food to the New Hampshire Food Bank after learning of shortages there.

Lesperance said students in his class on campaigns this year identify Edwards as the service candidate, particularly with regard to New Orleans.

"They say he's the only candidate who's really talking about it, who's actually there doing things," he said.

Political analyst Dean Spiliotes was more skeptical about whether the service projects would attract new voters.

"If you're someone who supports him and want to get involved, it may be something that excites you," he said.

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