Tree Planting Goal and Vision | Tree Initiative NG

Our Aim

T.R.E.E Project aim is to facilitate and supervise the planting of 10 million trees using both indigenous and adopted tree seedlings to be distributed for free to volunteers and farmers particularly across rural communities in Nigeria.

Our Vision

To promote the continuous planting of trees and the expansion of woodland across vulnerable communities to tackle the adverse effect of climate change as a result of continuous indiscriminate deforestation.

Goals

To engage students, youth and women in organized tree planting.
To train about 1000 tree partners as volunteers by 2025.
To plant and nurture cumulatively a total of 100,000 trees per community, and a total of 10 million trees over a 10-year period in more than 100 communities.
A minimum of 10 communities will be enrolled into the project annually to reach our 10-year goal.
The selected communities will make available a land area of about 10 acres each.
To sustain the climate change campaign against deforestation using various conventional and social media platforms.

Objectives

To promote the planting of trees as a lifestyle.
To raise awareness on the dangers of deforestation.
To mobilize resources for the expansion of woodland.
To monitor and support communal afforestation efforts.

Why Tree Planting?

T.R.E.E Project came out of the urge to assist in creating a specific, productive and sustainable action strategy towards afforestation of the extensively depleted vegetation and forest cover of communities within the most exposed regions.

Our observations led to biodiversity concerns. It was observed that the rate at which trees were being lumbered indiscriminately on a daily basis by locals and timber merchants, particularly to produce charcoal and furniture, there will be a serious distortion in the ecosystem and ecology of these exposed communities which may eventually end as an inexplicable environmental disaster.

These deforestation activities portend danger and needs to be countered with control strategies before it gets worse. It is on record that, almost 20% of global carbon emissions are caused by deforestation. It is also becoming obvious that there is already a disruption in the water cycle around this region of Africa.

This afforestation project, the coordinated planting and management of trees and the advocacy strategies to be deployed to curb and minimize the deliberate felling of trees for both domestic and export purposes will reduce global warming.

T.R.E.E Project strategy is to continuously encourage the replenishing of depleted woodland across communities by planting selected indigenous and adopted trees to protect these vulnerable communities from the immediate and future consequences of deforestation.

It is a painstaking strategy to salvage these communities from the dare environmental and even economic consequences of deforestation using the planting and management of trees as well as the expansion of forest resources by creating more woodland.

Similar related initiatives are being undertaken in other climes and one of such is the New York Restoration Project which was conceived by the Mayor, Michael Bloomberg.

The New York Restoration Project was designed to oversee the planting of One Million Trees across the New York City landscape over a 10 year period (2007-2017). The project was tagged “MillionTreesNYC”.

While the New York Restoration Project intends to restore the aesthetic façade of the city, T.R.E.E. Project intends to restore, replenish and replicate the planting and management of selected indigenous and adopted trees that can mitigate deforestation over the next 25 years and more.

It is a good strategy of engaging youths, particularly school age kids, youth volunteers and women farmers across communities. It is a deliberate attempt to give them the opportunity to adopt afforestation as a culture and lifestyle.

T.R.E.E. Project will continuously make available tree seedlings with adequate training of interested volunteers irrespective of age or status under the “Special Community Understanding” platform.

T.R.E.E. Project will support and supervise in the aspects of layout design, seed selection, planting, grooming and management for sustainability in communities with depleted woodland area.

The overall goal is a win-win situation for all; the climate, the environment and the people.

T.R.E.E. Project selected indigenous and adopted tree species include:

1. Eucalyptus (E. torelliana spp.)

2. Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylia spp.)

3. Mahogany (Shorea roxburghii spp.)

4. Opepe (Nauclea spp.)

5. Black Afara (Terminalia ivorensis)

6. White Afara (Terminalia superba)

7. Teak (Gedu) (Tectona grandis)

8. Gmelina (Gmelina arborea)

Why Tree Planting?