Planting trees is not often easy, and it takes real skill to ensure they survive and do good for the environment they’re in 🌴
Treecard has partnered with our tree-planting partner Ecosia precisely because they have over 10 years of experience of planting trees in a holistic manner. 🤗🌳
Ecosia in turn relies on their network of local tree-planting organizations around the world 🗺 to plant trees following these three crucial rules:
1. Think long-term 🧐
One of the biggest criticisms of tree-planting projects is that there is too much emphasis on the number of saplings planted and too little focus on keeping those trees alive in the long term.
Ecosia uses the latest technology to ensure the trees are robust enough to survive long-term. The trees are tracked using satellites, geo-tagged photo evidence, and field visits. If a tree dies, it is replaced. 📸
2. Choose your planting site wisely 🌱
All our trees are planted shoulder-to-shoulder with local communities.
Working with the local community can help ensure the survival of the trees. Getting the community involved in choosing the planting site - which involves thinking about factors like how much shade, sun, and water they will get — strengthens their commitment to caring for them after planting. 🌞
3. Decide what type of trees to plant 🌲
Once a site is chosen, it’s important to choose the right tree species for the local area. Native trees are always the best bet, in order to restore the natural situation that existed before. There are occasional exceptions; for example, planting non-invasive fruit or nut trees alongside native trees in agroforestry systems, to provide income and food for local communities. 🍎
Photographs courtesy of Pexels
