Trees improve the climate and increase biodiversity, and they look after us as well! In fact, life on earth would be impossible without trees. Thanks to forests, we have oxygen, clean air, food, water… and much more besides!
Trees provide oxygen. Even forests at the other side of the world contribute to the air we breathe here. Did you know that just one mature tree can produce more than 100 kilos of oxygen a year? Another benefit is that trees and forests filter pollutants from the air, such as CO2, nitrogen and particulate matter, letting us breathe clean air!
Greenery has a positive effect on our physical and mental health. Green surroundings encourage us to move and to relax, thus reducing the risk of obesity, diabetes type 2, cardiovascular disease and depression. Greenery also reduces levels of stress and anxiety, as well as improving concentration. Just spending 5 or 10 minutes in thewoods or green surroundings can be enough to make you feel better and reduce your stress. Even looking at pictures of trees and forests has a similar effect!
From apples, bananas and pears to nuts, coffee beans and cacao: much of our food grows on trees and shrubs. So, they form an essential link in our food supply chain. And animals like birds, insects and mammals eat fruit and berries from trees and shrubs as well. They also help to spread the seeds from which new trees and shrubs can grow!
Trees are experts in water management. Their leaves and branches collect rainwater and retain it temporarily. That way they reduce the force of a downpour and water doesn’t run off immediately. And maybe even more importantly, trees stimulate a healthy, aerated soil that is better able to collect and retain water. This prevents water washing away over the streets or the land all at once. An average mature tree in the city can retain between 200 and 400 litres of water in its crown, according to Wageningen University & Research!
On the other hand, trees also provide more water – or rather rain. Water evaporates from their leaves, creating clouds and rain. And that’s a real necessity in places that are becoming hotter and drier, due to climate change.
In the Bolivian Andes, where Trees for All has been supporting a reforestation project since 2022, the loss of nature is causing drought and water shortages. By replanting thousands of trees, water can infiltrate the ground better and the water supplies are recovering step by step.
More about this project
On hot days, you can immediately feel the difference between places with trees and places without them. Trees provide shade, as well as cooling the air. The latter effect is produced through evaporation: the process by which water evaporates from the leaves and cools down the air. This can easily make a street with trees 10 degrees cooler than one without trees! This way trees can help to combat heat stress in cities, for example. You can find out more about this superpower in our blogs.
It is a tree-planting organiation’s worst nightmare: wildfire. The effects of climate change – such as increasing drought and extremer temperatures – cause wildfires to occur more often and to become more intense. Is it any use to plant trees then? Yes, indeed! For although it sounds contradictory, trees…
Read the story
Water shortages are a daily reality in the Bolivian Andes. That is why Trees for All is committed to reforestation here, working together with local partners and communities. And the impact is highly promising! A recent study shows that reforestation enables the soil can retain on average three…
Read the story
Trees contain substances in their bast, bark, leaves, roots and seeds that have been used for medicinal purposes over centuries. For instance, a major ingredient in aspirin comes from the bark of a willow. And the beautiful foxglove produces important substances used in medicines for heart problems. So, some of the best cures are prescribed by nature itself!
All over the world, millions of people depend on forests. For example, trees provide many jobs in forest management, sustainable agroforestry, recreation, research, tourism and education. Moreover, many communities live in or near a forest, benefiting directly from it for growing food or other products for their daily lives.
Watch this video to find out how people in Tanzania benefit from our shared reforestation project:
Establishing a successful tree-planting or reforestation project requires courage and perseverance. In our ‘Project Heroes’ series, we speak with the people behind the projects we support. This time, Seifu Gebreslassie (39), coordinator of the EthioTrees project in Tigray (Ethiopia), where trees are essential for survival. Reforestation and agroforestry in…
Read the story
Bolivian farmers help the transition to sustainable agroforestry, so they no longer have to cut down trees in favor of agriculture or animal husbandry. This is the ArBolivia Project, to which Trees for All and Sicirec dedicate themselves. And it works: via the project, some 2,000 Bolivian farmers plant…
Read the storyHoe meer bomen, hoe groter de positieve impact. Plant je ook mee?
