The Canopy Project
Education is Necessary in Tree Planting
April 6, 2023
Education is at the core of the environmental movement. It’s where Earth Day got its original start in 1970 and remains a huge part of our mission today, including our efforts in reforestation and conservation with our global campaign, The Canopy Project.
Climate and environmental literacy doesn’t just mean teaching school children the importance of recycling or a board room best practices in sustainable development, it means implementing action. Each reforestation project we do at EARTHDAY.ORG includes community engagement and education to guarantee the trees planted last a multiple human lifetimes and can be a pillar of good that will last generations. , creating a lasting impact for both the environment and the individuals.
The climate emergency is getting worse, and those most vulnerable are seeing an increase of sea levels, temperatures, and the severity of storms. The World Health Organization estimates there will be an additional quarter million deaths every year from malnutrition, malaria, heat stress, and other diseases related directly to a changing climate. Tree planting is one of the simplest and easiest ways to contribute to the climate fight, which is why we strive to plant millions of trees every year.
Teaching the community about the dangers of over-harvesting trees and the numerous benefits of new tree plantings, including river bank securement, water filtration, habitat restoration, and carbon sequestration has immense benefits. Communities use these trees beyond just timber or heating use and unleash the full potential of the forests and their land. In Bangladesh we planted 100,000 mangrove trees along the banks of the Rupsha River. Mangroves have a unique almost maze-like root system that is the perfect breeding ground for marine life. Many in the area depend on fishing to provide for their families and these trees go a long way toward maintaining and enhancing the fish population.
The communities and farmers near each planting site are taught the benefits of planting trees within their farms to help preserve the land, keeping them from being trampled over by livestock and creating shade for some less sun-tolerant crops, such as coffee. Our project in Uganda educated the local population the importance of maintaining wooded areas to help prevent detrimental landslides. The trees EARTHDAY.ORG planted there have acted to secure the mountainside and help prevent another catastrophe in that region. Trees do this through their complex root systems, they prevent the soil from getting compacted allowing water to seep in rather than just flow on top. Flowing on top is what moves large amounts of matter, eroding away the landscape.
Just like the trees planted, education can be passed on from generation to generation. If we want to leave a better world for the next generation, it starts with planting a tree through EARTHDAY.ORG’s The Canopy Project.
