Conservation and Biodiversity
Over A Billion. And We Just Got Started!
July 21, 2016
Plant one tree for every person on earth. 7.8 billion trees by 2020: a huge task. But that’s exactly what we at Earth Day Network have pledged to do by Earth Day’s 50th anniversary. Just four months later, we have already hit about 20% of our goal. Through the generous and tireless work of friends, allies, and funders, approximately 1.5 billion trees have been pledged to Earth Day Network by #EarthDay2020.
EDN is the global connection point and motivation to plant trees around the world. Pledges have been coming in since Earth Day 2015 to move our goals forward. On the stage at Global Citizen 2015, the World Organization of the Scout Movement pledged over a billion service hours to tree planting around the world. We have now confirmed 500 million trees will be planted in North America and another 500 million in other parts of the world by the scouts. More recently, volunteers from India’s state of Uttar Pradesh planted 50 million trees as a kick-off to their plan to plant 460 million trees.
A number of projects around Europe, Africa, Canada, India, and the United States this year will also push us closer to our 7.8 billion goal. We aim to plant trees in communities that need them the most. In this way, from fruit trees to forest gardens, people’s lives are enriched through Earth Day Network projects. Our trees will be the source of home grown foods that can be used by individuals or sold to a market. They can also provide a much needed income for community members who live in degraded environments.
In order to achieve our goal of 7.8 billion trees, we will work with partners from all levels of society, integrate trees into all of our existing campaigns, and create coalitions with national and subnational governments, mayors, faith leaders, businesses, and civil society from all across the globe.
Our goals for planting these trees are as simple as they are important:
- Fight climate change and pollution;
- Support communities, their local economies, and their way of life;
- Protect biodiversity; and
- Inspire millions of people to join us in environmental citizenship and stewardship.
