As the climate continues to heat up at alarming rates, we’re becoming more aware of how our festive excesses are harming the planet, especially that season staple – the Christmas tree. By the time the season is over, millions of fir trees will be clogging up landfills and emitting one of the most potent planet warming greenhouse gases – methane.
But while global deforestation destroys the planet’s ability to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, Treedom (a social enterprise newly launched in the UK) offers the antidote.
Instead of wasting a tree, people can help the environment and local communities by planting one. Whether a banana tree in Cameroon or a water pear tree in Kenya, consumers can choose any one of Treedom’s sustainable agroforestry projects in which to plant their tree, including Kenya, Cameroon, Madagascar, Tanzania, Nepal and Columbia.
Prices range from a Cacao at €14,90 to the Baobab at €69.90, which includes the cost of planting, geolocating and photographing the tree, wages for the farmers and the upkeep of the tree for ten years.
On purchase, customers receive a photo of the tree in the nursery and, once the tree is planted, a photo of the sapling and its GPS coordinates. They will then receive periodic updates of the project in which it was planted.
No other tree planting enterprise photographs and geolocates each individual tree, providing updates on the project through a Tree Diary. Treedom is also the only company of its kind whereby each tree has its own online landing page so that customers can name their tree or write virtual messages on them.
This Christmas, Treedom is also offering a limited-edition range of trees including avocado, cacao, neem, baobab, coffee and mangrove trees.
To date, Treedom has planted more than 800,000 trees across 15 countries, offsetting more than 268 million kilograms of CO2. But it’s about more than just planting trees. Every tree is planted by selected smallholder farmers who rely on agriculture to live. Customers’ money goes towards supporting farmers around the world until the trees are productive and farmers can eat and sell its fruits. So far, Treedom has provided food security and additional income for over 47,000 farmers.
Treedom offers a Christmas present for today’s climate: a chance to offset our carbon emissions, help farmers around the world support their families, and contribute to biodiversity and the health of our natural environment and its wildlife.
Further information and to buy your gifts go to: Treedom
