How Planting Trees Can Change the World

If we learned anything in the past year, it is that the world is in desperate need of good news. Eden Reforestation Projects (Eden) has partnered with Greener Beauty not just to share good news but to create it. Through the support of donors and partners, forests worldwide are being restored, and communities living in extreme poverty are provided with the opportunity to create better lives for both themselves and their families.
Issues like deforestation and extreme poverty can seem overwhelming and too big to solve, but that’s not necessarily true. We’ve found solutions to some of these difficult problems, but first, it’s essential to understand what’s wrong.

Climate change: Although climate change is not entirely due to deforestation, it does play a significant factor. With fewer trees, temperatures rise, and the earth as a whole warms more quickly.

More severe natural disasters: Trees serve as natural barriers when disasters like flooding hit. Without trees, water rushes through, destroying everything in its path and eroding into streams and rivers.

Wildlife loses its habitat: Many animal species make their homes in trees and forests. Deforestation takes away habitats and forces these animals to move elsewhere, and some even become at risk of extinction.

Unfortunately, this list could be longer, but it’s enough to give you an idea of how deforestation negatively impacts the planet. There’s a need for a long-term solution to deforestation that also helps those living in extreme poverty. If we don’t address both issues, the destructive cycle will only continue.

Our approach is two-fold.

Plant Trees

If a lack of trees is the problem, bringing them back is the first part of the solution. Trees serve many purposes in our world.

Trees help the planet and people – Trees help cool things down, which is vital in combating climate change. At the most basic level, trees capture carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the air, allowing all of us to breathe. Without trees, life on earth wouldn’t exist!

Trees protect against natural disasters – Trees prevent flooding and erosion, and they serve as a barrier against hurricanes and other storms. When these disasters are prevented, farmland and villages are protected.

Trees serve as a habitat for countless species – When Eden works to restore forests, habitats are restored too, allowing animals to return home.

Bonus: Trees are a source of food – Trees can both produce food and provide a habitat for food sources like fish or crab. When tree species such as mangroves grow near water, the water becomes healthy again. Fish and other sea life can return, giving the local community food and a source of income.

Trees can also serve as a source of income when people are employed to plant them, which leads us to the second part of our mission.

Save Lives

For Eden, planting trees is essential not just for the environment but also for empowering people living in extreme poverty to create better lives for themselves. Eden puts reforestation in the hands of local communities who will be there to plant, protect, and nurture these trees for years to come.

All of Eden’s international employees are given a fair and consistent income, so they have the opportunity to send their children to school, buy medicine, start microenterprises, and afford other daily necessities like food, shelter, and clothing.

When the community earns an income through reforestation, they become invested in their work, leading to long-term and sustainable success.

Our mission is simple but impactful: plant trees, save lives.

THIS GUEST FEATURE HAS BEEN WRITTEN FOR GREENER BEAUTY BY EDEN REFORESTATION PROJECTS

You can find out more about Eden and the work they do here or find them on Instagram here and Facebook here

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