Sustainable Agroforestry and Endangered Species Protection Across the Globe

Another month has flown by and you know what that means: another Reforestation Update that's chock-full of project stories, fun facts and tree-riffic puns to brighten your day! From New Brunswick and Australia to Thailand and Uganda, tune in for a fresh-from-the-field update courtesy of our awesome forest ambassadors Kyleigh and Nicole!

So without Further Ado, Here's Our July 2021 Reforestation Update!

Want to Learn More About the Projects We Featured This Month?

In New Brunswick, we've begun planting 200,000 trees to restore the Chignecto Isthmus, a unique conservation area that borders the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia — and connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America.  

Reforesting this site will promote wildlife connectivity, water retention, and carbon storage. By planting a diverse mix of native Acadian Forest tree species, the site will regenerate faster and with more diversity than it would if left alone. Because of the area's unique connectivity, the mainland Moose population of Nova Scotia is at risk of going extinct if they can't breed with individuals on the other side of the Isthmus. Continuous forest cover and long-term land conservation are two important ways to protect the ecological connectivity that sustains Nova Scotia wildlife.

In the buffer zone of Japoon National Park in Australia's Cassowary Coast Shire of Tropical North Queensland, we've begun planting for a 6 month long, 20,000 trees project that aims to revegetate 8 hectares of degraded agricultural land with over 60 native tree species. Planting here will create habitat for endangered species like the Southern Cassowary and Mahogany Glider and threatened tree species like the Platypus. Other benefits will include greater water retention at the site, reduced ground moisture loss, prevention of creek bank erosion, improved soil quality, a soil seed bank and food source for native wildlife, and more!

In Southern Thailand's Surat Thani Province, we're planting approximately 15,500 trees across 34 acres as part of a long-term, on going agroforestry project that aims to improve rural livelihoods by strengthening the resilience of smallholder rubber farmers. 99 farmers will be supported to plant trees through mixed-rubber agroforestry systems, boundary planting, riparian area planting and buffer planting.

This will help them transition to agroforestry-based farming systems, improve the protection of riparian areas and increase food security and provide an alternative source of income. In addition to its numerous community benefits, it will also improve biodiversity, reduce the need for chemical herbicides and fertilizers, reduce riparian erosion, improve soil health, increase carbon sequestration, improve microclimate conditions, increase climate change resilience, promote conservation, and more!

And finally, this month's deep dive finds us at a tree nursery project in Paicho Uganda, where our partner on the ground is building a network of rural nursery hubs and working with communities to grow and plant valuable fuelwood and fruit trees. This project has just come to an end, with 100,000 trees planted across 71 households to reverse climate change and empower rural farmers in Uganda with economic opportunity. 

Planting trees here will help address subsistence-based deforestation in a country where 94% of the population relies on unsustainably sourced fuelwood for charcoal. Due to very high gas prices, over 500,000 acres of forests are cut annually — equivalent to 43 football fields lost every hour. 

This project will benefit local communities and the environment by providing sustainable and affordable firewood, distributing trees that improve livelihoods (like mahogany, avocados and jackfruit) to farmers who partner with the nursery, providing climate-smart agroforestry trainings, coordinating market access for participating farmers, and more. It will also help address gender issues as 55% of the interested land-holding farmers are women. 

This project truly shows the importance of reforestation and how it can be leveraged to sustainably develop and empower communities! 

Thanks for tuning in to our update, we'll see you next month! Miss us already? Check out the One Tree Planted Youtube channel for more awesome videos. And don't forget: we have plenty of other awesome tree planting projects like these. Support reforestation today!