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Plant Trees
Growing agroforestry systems, healthy forest and fruit trees in collaboration with local communities of the Global South.
Why
Why plant trees?
Ecological Impact
Trees absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, making them important weapons against climate change. They also provide habitat for wildlife, prevent soil erosion and clean the air, contributing to healthy micro-climate and water levels building the basis for biodiversity.
Socio-Economic Impact
The nursery and planting, tending and monitoring work means sustainable income opportunities which particularly women benefit from. At the same time, incentives for illegal logging are countered via education and financial empowerment.
How
How does tree planting work?
We work with local partners in countries in the Global South that focus on reforesting degraded areas with new mixed forests (natural reforestation) and/or providing trees to surrounding farmers to include into their agricultural practices (agroforestry).
Where
Where are our project partners located and what do they focus on?
Where
Project Partner
Country
Focus
Nepal
Reforestation
India
Agroforestry
Uganda
Reforestation
Peru
Reforestation & Agroforestry
Tanzania
Reforestation & Agroforestry
Tanzania
Reforestation & Agroforestry
Tanzania
Reforestation & Agroforestry
Sustainability Criteria & Focus SDGs
Biodiversity fit
Only native tree species with high survival rates will be planted. For natural reforestation, only diverse mixed forests are planted and mono cultures are prohibited.
Community involvement & Cultural Awareness
All projects involve local communities, giving help to self-help. Cultural traditions are strictly considered.
Ethical Codex
Only projects with high ethical standards and fair wages are chosen after a careful due diligence.
Land Ownership
The planted trees are not owned by Impact Hero but the land belongs to the farmers (agroforestry projects) or land titles are granted to the local communities through long- term contracts (natural reforestation projects).
Technological Readiness
We choose either projects already able to properly track or monitor the trees or projects which we can empower.
SDG Contribution
All our projects support SDGs and have a special focus
tailored to their region.
Key transparency issues along the project cycle & our solutions
From planning to monitoring, we address transparency issues through different layers of standardised protocols and tech integrations to ensure the long-term sustainability of our reforestation projects. We constantly try to improve and onboard new features where necessary.
Project Spotlight: Tanzania
Reforestation, education & awareness building
In Tanzania, we restore the Usambara Mountains' biodiversity hotspot, empowering local communities with income opportunities through nursery and planting work. We rejuvenate degraded sites using native tree species and educate surrounding farms on fire prevention. Distributing fruit trees to participating farmers and promoting regenerative agriculture ensures sustainable income sources beyond tree-planting, countering incentives for future logging. Read more on our Blog post.
1.420
People involved (60% Women )
431+
Beneficiary
farms
766+
Hectares under restoration
20+
Planting
sites
How much CO2 does a tree sequester?
Unfortunately, this is difficult to answer in general terms - on the one hand, because different tree species absorb different amounts of carbon and on the other hand because trees absorb different amounts of carbon during their different stages of development.
After planting, the trees need around three years before they start sequestering carbon. Then, in the first few years, the young trees bind relatively little CO2. But as soon as they grow in height, a lot of CO2 is absorbed – in their highest productivity phase up to 60 kg of CO2 per year. The amounts vary depending on the tree species, light intensity, water and nutrient availability at the location, etc. The older trees get, the more biomass is produced, but at the same time they also lose leaves and branches, and of course individual trees can also die, so that a certain amount of CO2 is released again. In the meantime, new trees are growing naturally, so that a balance is created in the forest over time and the biomass can be used to determine exactly how much CO2 is bound in the forest in total. The creation of permanent forests is always the goal of our projects.
The specification of the absorption capacity of a tree is therefore always only a rough average value. As a rule of thumb it can be said that tree absorbs an average of 22 kg of CO2 per year.
Is it better to plant trees in Germany or abroad?
Basically, the benefit of trees compensating CO2 and protecting climate is given worldwide, no matter where emissions are caused and emitted.
There are several reasons why we decided to plant the trees in the Global South:
1. The social leverage is greater here, as together with our partners we attach great importance to local social interests. Thus, the local communities are offered the opportunity for education and training. In addition, the cultural traditions and needs of the local communities are strictly taken into account.
2. The ecological leverage is also much greater, as many more trees can be planted with the same budget due to lower wages and costs for the reforestation areas.
3. Finally, we can achieve more on the economic level: Together with our partners, we plant trees where poverty is very high, so that local communities can be strengthened through long-term employment and income opportunities. In this way, a positive idea of "sustainability" can also find its way into countries where climate protection has often been seen as a brake on development.
These ideas are based on the three-pillar model of sustainable development, which is based on the idea that sustainable development can only be achieved through the simultaneous and equal implementation of environmental, economic and social goals.
How is it ensured that the forest will continue to exist in the long term?
It is our goal to plant sustainable forests. The planted forests are therefore established for the long term and are under permanent protection. We and our partners work very closely with the local agricultural cooperatives to guarantee the long-term preservation of the afforestation areas. We also plant mixed forests of native tree species rather than low-cost monocultures to ensure high survival rates and guarantee that an organic and resilient forest can grow.
At the same time, about 10% of the trees are planted as so-called agroforestry species: Local farmers are provided with avocado or mango trees, for example, which they can cultivate themselves and thus secure their income. This ensures that the incentive for illegal logging is counteracted and that the smallholders recognise the potential of sustainably securing their own forests.
How is the price calculated?
Our price is a mixed calculation of the costs for planting and long-term monitoring of the trees, which vary from project to project, and the costs acquired in order to reach you reading this and running the online shop.
Our price is quite low - yet we do not plant cheap monocultures, but only those mixed forests that fit the local flora and fauna and have the best survival rates.
Can we find out the location of our trees?
All of our trees are planted with our tree-planting partners in the Global South. We want your contribution to plant a maximum number of trees! Although it isn't currently possible, we hope in future to be able to pinpoint the exact locations of your financed trees, offer individual photos or even personalize trees with signs, but this would significantly increase the price of the trees planted.
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