FARMERS PLANT 300 MILLION TREES THROUGH AGROFORESTRY PROGRAM
Trees for the Future on Track to Plant One Billion Trees with Farmers
WASHINGTON DC (FEBRUARY 7, 2023) – Regenerative agroforestry nonprofit Trees for the Future (TREES) has planted 300 million trees around the world.
“Today, we’re celebrating 300 million trees planted in farming communities, by farming communities, for farming communities,” says TREES Director of Programs Brandy Lellou. “Environmentally, these trees cool the land, channel water back into the ground, stabilize soils and create habitat. For farming families and their communities, these trees are a sustainable source of fodder, fruit, fuelwood, protective windbreaks and natural fertilizers providing organic food and income opportunities while building resilience to rapidly changing climate conditions.”
Founded in 1989, the organization has worked around the globe. Today, TREES staff train farmers in an agroforestry technique called the Forest Garden Approach. Their work is focused on sub-Saharan Africa where farmers are faced with some of the most challenging conditions. The average Forest Garden is home to 2,500 – 4,000 trees and dozens of food and resource crops for the family to eat and sell. TREES has planted 176 million trees in Forest Garden systems since 2014.
“Feeding a big family is hard but it has become easier with this new way of farming. We always have something to eat from the garden,” says Rosemary Mande, a Forest Garden farmer in Uganda.
TREES’ Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning team tracks farmer activity and trees planted through farmer surveys, TaroWorks software, and drone imagery.
“In addition to tree count, we’re also looking at the number and types of species growing in a Forest Garden, biodiversity and biomass, carbon sequestered, and a farming family’s access to food and nutrition,” explains Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Andrew Zacharias. “Having all of this data on hand helps us better understand what is working and what isn’t so that we can have the greatest possible impact on people and planet.”
By the Numbers:
- 300 million trees planted since 1989
- 176 million trees planted in Forest Gardens since 2014
- 14,257,297 metric tonnes of CO2 sequestration capacity over a 20-year period
- 41,052 farmers trained in the Forest Garden Approach’
- 332,659 beneficiaries
“To the supporters who fund our work, the staff that make it possible, and the farmers who plant the seeds and nurture the trees, thank you for making 300 million trees a reality,” says Director of Development Brian MacNair.
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