Why Do You Save and Plant Trees Instead of Doing Something Else?
Simply put, trees are the superheros of planet Earth. While their environmental positives are well known, they also help to support countless species of plant and animal life in some of the planet’s most diverse ecosystems.
Most people are aware that saving and planting trees is an excellent way to support the environment. In fact, they are the most efficient consumers of carbon dioxide (carbon sinks) on the planet.
Each and every year, one acre of trees absorbs around six tons of carbon dioxide from the environment.
Furthermore, trees help to fight climate change, invigorate natural water cycles, mitigate the spread of deserts, and revitalize “unusable” areas into fertile farmlands and woods. By conserving existing trees and planting new ones, we can reverse this habitat destruction almost immediately, giving these animals a new chance at life. From the lemurs in Madagascar to the jaguars in the Amazon–we choose to stand against human destruction of wildlife habitats.
How Has Deforestation Impacted the Planet?
Tragically, roughly half of the Earth’s trees have disappeared in the past 100 years resulting in worldwide devastation, desertification, flooding, and land loss.
Planting trees helps to raise the quality of life of Earth’s people significantly, especially in less developed areas. By producing nutritious, fresh forest goods they support local economies and the health of the people who live in them.
Instead of being forced to migrate for food and livable conditions, local men and women are able to find dependable and enjoyable income that provides livable wages from the economic activities created from planting trees. This allows these parents to send their children to school, buy medicine and other crucial health supplies, build shelters, and rise from extreme poverty.
What Other Things Do Trees Do?
Trees provide life and a stable ecosystem for countless species–many of which are now endangered due to rampant deforestation. They also contribute geologically, helping to stabilize coastlines and mountainsides.
By saving and planting trees you do many, many things:
- Stabilize local economies and the politics that go along with it
- Protect existing habitats and expand them so animals can have a fighting change at survival
- Defend against climate change
- Revitalize ecosystems
Trees truly are superheros. To learn about even more reasons, view the benefits of planting trees.
Provide nutrition, employment, education, and healthcare assistance to local inhabitants
Every year, our planet grows warmer from what’s known as the greenhouse effect caused by all the extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This carbon overload is caused by burning fossil fuels (like coal, oil and gas) or by cutting and burning forests.
Did you know that the average carbon footprint of a person living in America is 2 tons per month?
The number is often much higher for those living in urban areas! It is important to realize that no matter how much we strive to live an environmentally-conscious lifestyle (and we should!), we still create an unavoidable carbon footprint.
Unfortunately, having a carbon footprint is an unavoidable aspect of daily modern life. From the vehicles we drive and the clothes we wear, to the technology we use to make our lives simpler and the processing of our food and water—all of it contributes to your carbon footprint.
While there are many different ways to offset carbon, our focus at 8 Billion Trees is to plant specific, native species of trees to sequester carbon.
What Is the Negative Carbon Impact of Each Person Annually?
In most developed countries, the average person creates 15-20 tons of carbon dioxide each year.
Including all countries in the world, the current average is 5 tons of carbon dioxide produced each year per person. That means if you are living in a developed country like America, Canada, Australia, or any country in Western Europe, you are likely in the top 1% of global carbon emitters.
Helping to do your part by offsetting your personal pollution truly makes a difference. And paying it forward for someone else (or to go carbon positive) helps heal the planet even more.
How Can I Offset My Carbon Footprint?
You can offset your footprint with trees! Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air in a process called carbon sequestration.
Carbon sequestration is the removal of carbon from the environment through the capture of carbon dioxide–which trees are extremely good at! As trees grow, they capture or “pull” carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen–storing the absorbed carbon in their tree trunk and branches during their lifespan. Scientists call this a ‘carbon sink,’ which means that the more trees that exist, the better the environment can remove harmful Co2.
The goal of carbon sequestration is to capture harmful carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in order to slow and reverse atmospheric pollution, with the end goal of mitigating and reversing man-made global warming and climate change.
What Are Carbon Offsets, And How Do They Work?
Carbon offsets are defined as actions that cause a reduction of carbon emissions, or other greenhouse gases, in order to negate actions that produce your carbon footprint.
Essentially, an offset is the balancing point. For example, if you use 20 plastic shopping bags a week for one year, those bags generated 423 pounds of carbon emissions (to manufacture). To “offset” that part of your footprint, you can do something… such as planting three trees.
What Is the Carbon Offset Membership?
Our carbon offset monthly membership focuses on planting hyper-carbon-sequestering trees that have been shown to directly offset more carbon than other species. Mangroves in Madagascar and Deciduous trees in the subtropics region of Brazil are two examples. In addition to being powerful at offsetting carbon, these trees also provide habitats for critically endangered animals.
With a carbon offsetting membership, you can work to erase your personal emissions while also saving endangered animals and conserving existing mature forests in the Amazon Rainforest every single month. Truly, one single person can make a difference. Please act now to do your part. You can begin by calculating your personal carbon footprint.
Where Do You Plant and Conserve Trees?
We have a dedicated article explaining just this. Click here to read more on where we plant and conserve trees.
How Many Trees Has 8 Billion Trees Helped to Plant and Conserve?
Since launching November 2018, 8 Billion Trees has planted over 8,371,131 trees and is currently protecting and restoring 185,329 acres of biodiverse Amazon rainforest with the Government of Tocantins, Brazil in Lajeado State Park. Additionally, we fund wildlife conservation efforts in and near the Amazon Rainforest in the Brazil.
How Can I Be Sure the Trees Won’t Be Cut Down?
A truly-effective tree-planting operation relies on educating the local community directly, and teaching them that conserving the forest is not only beneficial for the environment and habitats–it is beneficial for them as well.
This is because in many cases, the true cause of deforestation revolves around economic issues and poverty. Locals around the world illegally destroy forests as a way of survival. But through showing them innovative ways to plant, we can educate them on how to plant trees that will provide produce and resources for them, while conserving existing forests.
In this way, we are able to treat the cause of deforestation and not just the symptoms. It also makes sure that trees being planted aren’t cut down and provide a long-lasting impact on the environment.
Additionally, some of the trees are specifically designed to be trimmed periodically to provide sustainable tree products. These are species that are planted with the intent to coppice–trim and cut back occasionally to spur more growth. The trees we plant with your support are not only permanent. They are constantly growing and expanding and help provide sustainable resources year after year that will stop deforestation at its roots.
Finally, in some areas we have formed agreements with Governments to protect special lands marked as critical for biodiversity and the regional biosphere. For example, we have partnered with the Government of Tocantins in Brazil to protect and restore Lajeado State Park.
How Do I Know the Trees Are Actually Getting Planted?
Making sure our trees are being planted is our number one priority. Because of this, there are several steps we take. Our partners have photo stations along planting sites and utilize GPS coordinate tagging when taking pictures. This allows us to see–very literally–the precise location where the trees are being planted.
Plus, 8 Billion Trees biologists and team members take pictures and videos of the planting sites on a regular basis to monitor growth and the health of the plantings. Additionally, we encourage all of our supporters to review our planting projects page for live updates on our tree operations around the world.
What Happens After the Trees Have Been Planted?
They flourish and grow!
We don’t simply plant the trees and hope for the best. A large part of our process is helping to educate farmers and growers on proper reforestation so they are equipped with not only the “how” but the “why” as well. This includes teaching them what should and shouldn’t be done, what can be cut down and what can’t, how to care for the trees on an ongoing basis, and how to care for the environment at the same time.
The entire tree-planting process helps to create a sense of stewardship, responsibility, and ownership in the growers. Instilling this deep pride in the tree growers helps to ensure trees become an integral part of the local environment.
How Soon After My Purchase Are the Trees Planted and Conserved?
We guarantee that your trees will be planted within 180 days of your purchase. It often occurs much sooner than this, however.
The precise time of when trees are planted depends on several factors including local climates and weather cycles. We focus our planting efforts in Earth’s hotspots where severe deforestation is causing irreversible damage. Sometimes there is a delay as we wait for the growing season in these locations.
And, your trees will be conserved almost immediately–each time you make a contribution it allows us to expand our conservation efforts in real-time so that we can fight habitat destruction now, not next month or next year.
What Happens to the Trees if I Cancel My Purchase or Ask for a Refund?
As a social enterprise we are committed to making our dream a reality. For every canceled order or refund we pledge to cover the cost of the trees and make sure they are planted and conserved regardless.
How Long Does It Take For Trees to Grow to Their Full Size?
The time required for a tree to reach maturity depends on several factors, some of which include the species type and where the tree is planted. A tree can remove harmful carbon from the environment for over 2 decades after being planted.
Do You Plant Only Native Species?
The issue of planting invasive species is one we take very seriously. By using only species that are native to a given area, many of these issues can be avoided.
One very important way we do this is by only using seeds from local plants–not ordering them from somewhere else. This maintains the native species’ integrity and prevents us from making a negative environmental impact. Additionally, sometimes a species of tree may be selected for its fast growth potential or shade coverage–such as banana trees–which then paves the way for more species to be planted. In this way, we can help to restore the natural biodiversity of the land and encourage the growth of a wide range of different flora.
In order to get thousands of native tree seeds, we often coordinate with Official Government nurseries.
Can You Plant Trees in My Area?
No. Unfortunately we cannot provide trees to individuals for planting due to fulfillment and customs boundaries.
There are many different factors we use when determining where to plant, including the weather, local climate cycle, tree availability by species type, local need, and hotspot classification.
Can I Pick Which Country You Plant the Trees In?
At the time being, we do not have the ability to allow supporters to choose the precise location of where their trees will be planted. Where we plant is determined by where we can have the largest impact and where animals are in desperate need of reforestation for their habitats.
How Much Does It Cost to Plant Each Tree?
The price of trees are extremely variable and depend on a large number of factors, from the species type, to the location of planting, to logistics and handling costs. While trees can provide valuable products and resources like fruits and building materials, many of the trees we plant directly support locals and their families.
Furthermore, we are dedicated to being the most transparent carbon offset project on the planet. The level of reporting provided by 8 Billion Trees requires additional team members, technology, and supporting infrastructure. These things make tree planting more expensive, but in the end ensures that the trees we’re planting are actually leaving an impact for the environment.
And the value of trees simply cannot be overstated: a fully mature tree provides between $1,000 to $10,000 in value to the local economy and environment.
Where Are You Located?
Our headquarters is in Las Vegas, Nevada. We operate 5 days a week, throughout all seasons of the year.
Can You Tell Me More About Your Offset Projects?
Absolutely! Please visit our about page.
When Was the Company 8 Billion Trees Started?
8 Billion Trees was founded in 2018 by Jon Chambers when he put forth their own money to begin making the dream of planting and conserving 8 billion trees a reality.
Since then, over 8,371,131 trees have already been planted along with the conservation of 185,329 acres of existing forest trees.
Who Do You Partner With?
Are You a Charity?
No.
8 Billion Trees is a company defined as a social enterprise and not a charity.
What does this mean? Simply put, 100% of profits are re-invested and used to further the company’s mission of planting 8 billion trees around the globe.
Interested to learn more on why we aren’t a charity? We’ve created an entire article explaining more.
Why Don’t You Just Plant and Save Trees and Not Sell Anything?
We love the idea of just planting trees without selling eco-friendly items and offering a monthly subscription, but that model simply isn’t sustainable.
Planting and saving billions of trees requires massive resources, from the actual tree planting, to spreading awareness through outreach efforts. As a social enterprise company, we offer products that heal the planet and save endangered animals to fund the costs of maintaining our large-scale tree planting operations throughout the Amazon Rainforest and beyond.
If you’re going to use a product anyways, why not make the Earth-friendly choice and help reverse the climate crisis at the same time? We’d like to think it’s a no-brainer!
Can I Volunteer to Help Plant Trees?
While we do not currently have any volunteer events on the calendar, we are planning a full schedule for 2021 and beyond. As a new company we are always looking to make a greater impact, so there’s always room for new ideas and improvements.
In some tree planting locations it is important to give locals in extreme poverty the opportunity for employment that allows them to pay for food and better shelter, send their kids to school, pay for medical care, and rise from poverty. Employing locals also allows us to plant more efficiently where travel and distance would otherwise become obstacles and create a large carbon footprint.
The best way to help our mission is to spread the word and tell everyone that you can about 8 billion trees and our dream to plant and conserve 8,000,000,000 trees around the globe!
What If I Have More Questions?
We would love to hear from you! Please use our contact information to reach us.