September 30, 2019 2 min read

How much do we need trees? Hold your breath to find out. 

Trees produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide and other air pollutants. We all need them to breathe clean air and stay healthy. But deforestation and industrial activities have greatly diminished air quality around the world, with 9 out of 10 people breathing polluted air according to the World Health Organization. That’s just not ok.

Ready to do something about it?

You can help improve air quality for future generations everywhere by simply planting a tree. And for a short time, you can do so at no cost.

Your participation on social media will not only raise awareness, but actually get real trees planted!  

We’ll plant a tree for every person who posts a #breathefortrees photo. 

 Here are the details:

  1. Hold your breath and take a selfie in nature 
  2. Post it on Instagram or Twitter with #breathefortrees and tag @onetreeplanted
  3. Nominate 3 friends to do the same

Get creative with your pose or location, and group shots are welcome!

We will plant one tree for every person who follows the above instructions in October, up to 25K trees. 

Your account must be public so we can see your photos.

Here's what you can say - just copy and paste with your photo:

I'm holding my breath for nature! #breathefortrees and @onetreeplanted will plant one tree for every post like this on Instagram/Twitter to raise awareness about how trees are vital to clean air for all. I nominate - [tag friends] to do the same 🌲

Need more to explain? Here you go:

90% of the world's population breathes polluted air, but trees help clean the air by absorbing CO2 and other greenhouse gases, and by filtering small particles that are harmful to our health. The planet needs more trees so that we can all breathe clean air, and @onetreeplanted is planting them! They will plant 1 tree for every person who posts a photo of themselves holding their breath in nature with #breathefortrees and @onetreeplanted, up to 25K trees. Nominate 3 friends to help the message spread further. It's not every day that you have the chance to plant a tree for free!

Here's some inspiration 🙂🤳🏽

And to help you learn and spread the word even more, here are some more short stats about the relationship between trees and healthy air. 


The trees that result from this effort will be planted in India - home to 9 of the 10 most polluted cities in the world when it comes to air quality. 

We will create a gallery of the best photos and share it across our social media and the web. Thank you for participating and helping us plant 25,000 more trees to help the world breathe better! 🌲


We plant trees on 4 continents around the world. Want to choose where yours are planted?

by Diana Chaplin

Canopy Director & Eco-Storyteller