Trees for the Future on Track to Plant One Billion Trees with Farmers by 2030
Trees for the Future (TREES) announces 225 million trees planted and more than 300,000 people positively impacted in a report released Tuesday. The report, informed by 443 million data points over the past three decades shows the local, regional, and global impact of the agroforestry training nonprofit.
“For 32 years, we’ve relentlessly tackled the root causes of hunger, poverty, and climate change,” says TREES Executive Director John Leary. “It all comes back to food. By teaching farmers to grow food sustainably, we’re breaking the cycles of hunger and poverty and reversing climate change.”
Local TREES staff train farmers across sub-Saharan Africa in an agroforestry technique called the Forest Garden Approach. The typical Forest Garden is around half an acre in size and home to more than 2,500 fruit, nut, and agroforestry trees and dozens of species of food and resource crops.
“You cannot know how much this project is changing people’s lives,” said Mamadou Fall, a Senegalese farmer and program participant.
Key Takeaways from the Report:
- 35 million trees planted between July 2020 and July 2021.
- 225 million trees planted since 1989.
- 25,708 Forest Gardens established between July 2020 and July 2021.
- 4.5 million metric tons of CO2 sequestered since 1989.
- 706% increase in access to nutrition for participants and their families after three years in the four-year program.
“The positive impact we’re having on both people and the planet is proof that food systems really can change everything,” Leary says. “We’re incredibly grateful for the community of supporters and partners behind Trees for the Future and cannot thank them enough for making this type of impact possible.”
With 225 million trees planted, the organization is on track to reach their goal of planting one billion trees by 2030.