I've got a lot of feelings about this topic! I am a huge tree hugger, it's literally my job, but people need to realize that trees are NOT a panacea for everything. Not every open space is meant to be a forest, there are many other ecosystems! There is so much press around these 'plant a million tree' projects, but so little thought is a…
I've got a lot of feelings about this topic! I am a huge tree hugger, it's literally my job, but people need to realize that trees are NOT a panacea for everything. Not every open space is meant to be a forest, there are many other ecosystems! There is so much press around these 'plant a million tree' projects, but so little thought is actually put into the planting. Is this a place suitable for trees? Is anyone going to maintain these trees, or are they using all the money on planting only for half of them to die? I can speak from experience that funders only want to fund the planting portion, never the maintenance, and it's very frustrating trying to convince them that you need to put money towards keeping the trees ALIVE, otherwise it's all for naught.
Also, I do feel that their role in carbon capture is being...a bit overstated. Yes, they do capture carbon and can help offset climate change, but it is going to take decades for them to get large enough to make an impact and we need to do something NOW. Planting a new forest is not going to offset the damage from removing an old growth forest, it's just not. I think trees have a ton of benefits and are a public good when planted in the right place in the right way, but these mass reforestation campaigns with little care put into them are not the way to do it IMO.
I've got a lot of feelings about this topic! I am a huge tree hugger, it's literally my job, but people need to realize that trees are NOT a panacea for everything. Not every open space is meant to be a forest, there are many other ecosystems! There is so much press around these 'plant a million tree' projects, but so little thought is actually put into the planting. Is this a place suitable for trees? Is anyone going to maintain these trees, or are they using all the money on planting only for half of them to die? I can speak from experience that funders only want to fund the planting portion, never the maintenance, and it's very frustrating trying to convince them that you need to put money towards keeping the trees ALIVE, otherwise it's all for naught.
Also, I do feel that their role in carbon capture is being...a bit overstated. Yes, they do capture carbon and can help offset climate change, but it is going to take decades for them to get large enough to make an impact and we need to do something NOW. Planting a new forest is not going to offset the damage from removing an old growth forest, it's just not. I think trees have a ton of benefits and are a public good when planted in the right place in the right way, but these mass reforestation campaigns with little care put into them are not the way to do it IMO.