Plant a tree

We plant trees in the Netherlands and abroad, ensuring a good distribution over the various ongoing projects. Online donations are divided fifty/fifty between the Netherlands and abroad.

In planting trees, we’re dependent on the tree planting season in the relevant country and region. In the Netherlands, we plant between the end of November and mid-March. In this period, the trees are dormant and can grow on in the springtime without too much of a ‘shock’. And usually it’s not too warm and dry then, so the tree can get off to a good start in favourable conditions. In the tropics, the trees go into the ground at the start of the rainy season. If you plant in the middle of the rainy season, the seedlings can get washed away, and at the end of the rainy season it’s often too late to develop a good root system for surviving the dry season.

Some projects are realised within a year, whereas others have a longer duration. In that case, the total planting takes place over several years.

We guarantee that your trees will be planted. We draw up contracts with our project partners, in which agreements are made about activities, output and impact. We follow our projects closely through reports, field visits and rigorous monitoring, and we check the quantity and quality of the planting. We communicate this information through newsletters, social media, updates and our annual report.

Every year, we organise several tree-planting days in the Netherlands. These are primarily intended for our corporate forest partners, who have made a donation to a corporate forest. In adition, we also organise one or more tree-planting days for all our other partners and donors. Because we know what fun the planting days are. However, the organisation does depend on our own capacity and that of our project partners.

Rather than talking about planting individual trees, we prefer to think in terms of planting forests, and agroforestry and food forest projects. So your donation is always part of a greater whole. Not every sapling we plant will grow to a large, mature tree. In order to create a forest, you have to start by planting more trees than will eventually survive. There’s a reason for doing this. By planting more trees at the start, we accelerate the creation of a forest ecosystem and we can also realise a greater diversity of species. So your tree will help to ensure the creation of a new forest. That’s good for biodiversity and it makes the forest more resilient to climate change.Incidentally, you can certainly follow the project where your tree has been planted. If you make an online donation, we keep you informed through our Track & Trees!

Trees for All supports various projects worldwide. You can find all our projects on our project page. If you decide to donate trees, you can choose from two types of projects within the Netherlands and two projects abroad. These are the projects that need your donation the most. Good to know: we regularly update these projects.

It’s good that people ask critical questions about the necessity of planting trees. Of course, reforestation does take place naturally as well and we encourage that too. But it’s a much slower process. By planting the right tree species straight away, the natural regeneration process is accelerated. This means we can sequester more carbon in the shorter term and increase biodiversity by planting a large number of different species. In some cases, spontaneous reforestation is simply not possible or desirable. In monocultures (forests of a single species), there’s often a lack of seed sources and trees for a varied forest. If you don’t take action, then a monotonous forest will regrow. In order to create native forests on that land, with a rich variety of species, it’s necessary to intervene. Or sometimes former farmland has degraded through incorrect use of the land, which means that natural reforestation is not an option there either. Whatever the case, we always plant lots of different varieties of trees and shrubs, in order to create a healthy and climate-proof forest.

Both in the Netherlands and abroad, we plant as many native species of tree as possible. Trees that have always thrived in a particular place are demonstrably better for biodiversity, the soil and the water balance. They provide more life, both underground and above ground, including fungi, insects, birds and mammals. In the Netherlands, we plant an average of 15 to 20 species, particularly deciduous trees. In the long term, this creates a varied and healthy forest. In order to make our forests climate-proof, we’re also looking at South-European species of tree, which are more resilient to drought and heat, while also able to withstand a harsh winter.

In the developing countries where we work, the choice of suitable tree species is determined in consultation with the local population. In reforestation projects, we use as many endangered and endemic species as possible. In the vicinity of the villages and on farmland, it’s important that trees have value; for food or medicine, for example. This also ensures better management in the long term.

We work with an average donation amount for all the trees we plant. This makes it possible for us to support many different projects in the Netherlands as well as abroad. There are many factors that determine the price per tree. The cost varies by country, type of project and circumstances. If you’re planting trees in a challenging area, where you need additional irrigation or protection from livestock, for example, the costs will rise. And we always take account of the costs for long-term management and rigorous monitoring of the project results.

It’s important to know that your donation is far more than just planting a tree. We choose for an integral approach, whereby we plant trees, ensure that the drivers for deforestation are removed, restore biodiversity and contribute to better living conditions for the local community.