Trees for the Future (TREES), which celebrates its 32nd anniversary this year, has planted more than 200 million trees around the world are restored nearly 30,000 acres in its lifetime to date.
The 200 million trees are planted in more than 50 countries and they’re all part of thoughtful agroforestry systems. Tens of thousands of farmers planted the trees on their own land over the last three decades in conjunction with agroforestry training provided by TREES.
More than 76 million of the trees are part of what TREES calls Forest Gardens, strategically planted and diverse farms consisting of thousands of trees and dozens of plant and food species.
TREES Executive Director John Leary said: “The important and unique thing about these 200 million trees is that they’re here to stay because they were planted with the climate and landowner in mind. We see many tree planting efforts fail because trees are planted en masse without proper planning or consideration for the land. These trees will continue providing food or resources to these farmers for years to come and, at the same time, they’re restoring our environment by bringing back biodiversity, channeling water into the ground, improving soil fertility, and continually storing carbon.”
TREES has programmes and staff in Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda. They work in a number of other sub-Saharan Africa countries through collaborative partnerships.
Staff from the sustainable agriculture nonprofit train rural farmers living in poverty over a four-year period. In that time, that farmer learns how to protect and diversify their land without harmful and expensive chemical inputs. On average, each farmer plants between 2,500 and 4,000 trees per acre in their Forest Garden. By the end of the program, the farming family is making a reliable income and eating regular nutritional meals.
Rosa Medea is Life & Soul Magazine’s Chief. She writes about lifestyles including sustainable and green living. She also offers content services to businesses and individuals at Rosamedea.com
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