As we mentioned on the blog last week, trees are incredibly important - for animals, for people, for the environment - in every way you can think of. You've probably gathered by now that we at Tentsile are big tree fans, and today we want to tell you about an organisation called WeForest which is making life a lot better for people all over the world through tree-planting and reforestation projects. Their current tree planting count stands at over 7.5 million trees in 11 countries around the world - an amazing contribution to our planet's future. Here's a bit more about the project we're very proud to have partnered with.
How Does WeForest Work?
Individuals and companies can join WeForest in their mission to support biodiversity, food and water security, people's livelihoods and the health of the Earth's climate. As an individual, you can buy trees as gifts for your loved ones, make a direct donation to pay for trees to be planted, or even adopt a search engine that plants trees in Burkina Faso.
Companies can partner with WeForest in innovative ways that allow their customers to contribute to planting trees with the products or services they purchase. Some companies do 'buy 2, get 1 tree', others donate a percentage of their revenue, and some have specific ways of support that fit perfectly with their business - the architecture firm that plants a tree for every metre square built is a shining example.
What Do The Trees Do?
Through WeForest's partner projects across the globe, the trees purchased through individual and company support start their lives as part of a myriad of initiatives that make a difference - initially in specific, grassroots ways, and eventually in a broader context for us all. From reversing desertification in the Sahel to providing the structure for biodiversity corridors in the Amazon, via improving livelihoods and conditions for communities, these trees make a difference.
Case Study
In Kenya, WeForest works to halt the decline of the forests that is causing drought and famine in the Horn of Africa. The country's forest cover is less than 2%, with a large part of the remaining forest land on the slopes of Mount Kenya. By reforesting this area, food crop productivity will increase, poverty will be alleviated, water availability will improve and wildlife can begin to flourish once again. So far, over 137,000 trees of 19 species have been planted, and the project is ongoing. It's amazing to think that something as simple as buying a gig ticket, renting a car or purchasing a bar of chocolate can put into place a small but crucial piece of the environmental puzzle we all so desperately need to solve.
WeForest and Tentsile
As we mentioned at the beginning, we are one of WeForest's company partners, and we couldn't be happier about it. For each tent we sell, three trees are planted in one of WeForest's project sites. It joins the circle - if we're up trees, people can't cut them down, and by encouraging more people to get up trees, we're contributing to new trees being planted, too.
You can find out more about WeForest through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and by continuing to follow our blog - we'll be bringing you more in-depth information about them as the weeks go on.
All images by Lucy Radford.
