Silver Spring, MD (January 5, 2021) – Sustainable agriculture nonprofit Trees for the Future (TREES) announced Tuesday that they’ve planted more than 200 million trees around the world. 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.
The milestone was met with support from thousands of individual donors and more than 300 brand partners. BReD has helped TREES plant 5061 since partnering with them in the summer 2020, and aims to plant at least 10,000 a year.
“We are ecstatic to reach this milestone, it’s a memorable step in our mission to create a more sustainable food system while planting trees,” says Executive Director John Leary. “We could not have done this without the hardwork and determination of the farmers we serve, the talent and dedication of our global staff, and the unending generosity of our partners and supporters, like BReD.
“The quality of the coffee we source is not enough to stand out,” says BReD co-founder Natasha Tatton. “We believe our customers want to make good choices for the planet and humanity, and we’re doing what we can making that happen with our Drink a Coffee – Plant a Tree is the campaign launched when Covid restrictions meant taking away reusable cups in the bakery café. Our coffee is roasted locally in Vancouver, and sourced directly from farmers to ensure a fair wage. We only use Arabica beans as they promote biodiversity, rather than pillage the land as Robusta mono-crops do. You have to pay a higher price for this in a specialty coffee shop like ours but it’s much better for the farmer and the land, and we believe our customers will appreciate this. It’s nice to pay it forward to Africa, the homeland of coffee”.
When the Tattons discovered the Trees for the Future charity founded over 30 years ago, they were thrilled to take part in an initiative that promotes both sustainability and equality for those living in developing countries. For every coffee sold at BReD, a donation is made to cover the cost of planting a tree. “Businesses need to understand the value of working with other organizations when large scale problems need to be solved. Sustainability challenges are a systemic problem which cannot be solved by tackling one area in isolation,” says Elspeth Donovan, Deputy Director, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership in South Africa.
The 200 million trees are planted in more than 50 countries and they’re all part of thoughtful agroforestry systems. 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.
“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,” Leary says. “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. in the soil.”
“TREES, through its Forest Garden Approach has added new varieties of trees, vegetables, food and nutrition base to my family,” says Tanzanian farmer Salma Mussa. “This program is good and will keep sustaining my family forever.” (Read Salma’s story here.)
TREES will celebrate its 32nd anniversary this year and is expanding into more countries in the coming months. Learn more about their work at trees.org.
Trees for the Future is a registered 501 (c)(3) nonprofit that is ending poverty and improving the environment by teaching farmers how to grow food more sustainably.
