Building Momentum for a Strong 2021

You might notice that we're recording virtually this month to respect the latest COVID-19 lockdowns. And we have to acknowledge that a lot has happened in the last month. But while the pandemic and related factors aren't going away any time soon, we're hunkered down and working hard to reach our goal of planting over 13.5 million trees in 2021. That said, we have some fantastic projects to cover this month, and we're so excited to share them with you!

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

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

In Indonesia's Lampung region, we planted 100,000 trees to establish buffer zones around Sumatra's Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. Because of misguided agricultural practices, this region has experienced profound deforestation, damaged soils, contaminated water bodies, and erosion of important catchment areas. By working with local farming communities, this project with Rainforest Alliance will prevent further encroachment and damage to national parks and support the livelihoods of 40,000 farming families that depend on these forests. 

In the Wildheart of Southern Scotland, we've begun planting 24,300 trees across 1,800 acres in Talla and Gameshope. Because these areas were deforested centuries ago, they cannot rely on natural regeneration to recover. By planting trees here, native woodland will be restored, once again providing quality habitat for wildlife and recreation benefits to local communities. This project with Borders Forest Trust is part of a larger landscape-scale ecological restoration effort that seeks to restore over 3,100 ha of land in Scotland!

In Ethiopia's Amhara National Region, we began planting 150,000 trees to restore wildlife habitat, stabilize soils, and moderate the climate. The trees planted here will protect small farmers downslope from erosion and flood damage. They'll also help to improve the local microclimate by increasing atmospheric moisture as their leaves transpire. This project with Organization for Rehabilitation and Development in Amhara (ORDA) will also benefit local youth via income from seedling sales, and the larger community with improved grazing for livestock and income from beekeeping. 

And finally, this month's deep dive features a unique project where we get to address deforestation, pollution, and contamination from mining practices all at once! We're working to restore and reforest degraded mining land at 10 sites across the state of Pennsylvania. This project is just getting started, and will plant 207,810 trees over the course of the year. Some of the tree species planted here are able to absorb metals + gradually reduce soil contamination over time. This in turn will benefit water quality by reducing contamination of area watersheds. And as the planted seedlings grow, they'll create a patch of young forest habitat for several species of songbirds, game birds, reptiles, and mammals. As the forests mature and develop, new species like white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, and many small mammals will benefit, too. As you can see, this project with Green Forest Works is a great example of how planting trees can reduce pollution, rebalance ecosystems, and so much more!

Thanks for tuning in to our update, we'll see you next month! Miss us already? Check out our Youtube channel for more awesome videos. And don't forget, we have plenty of other awesome tree planting projects like these. Choose where your trees are planted today!