A major mission of Tentsile's is to plant as many trees as possible to join the world in fighting against climate change and global warming, and to support communities around the world that are negatively impacted by deforestation and require assistance. Over the years, we have worked with 2 major tree planting organisations that we have worked closely with. WeForest and Eden Reforestation Projects.
Tentsile Founder and CEO Alex Shirley-Smith spoke with Jessica Charmers from WeForest to discuss the organisation and what they do.
The Origins of WeForest
In 2009, social entrepreneur Bill Liao and current CEO Marie-Noëlle Keijzer co-founded WeForest. Forests being a climate solution wasn't as recognized as it is today. So, the idea to create a non-profit organisation that would be practical and implementation focused to restore forests around the world. And as the years went by, a small team of volunteers became a team of over 50 people across the world, and forests have become recognized as a considerable solution to climate change.
"Today we realize that to keep the warming targets under the 1.5°c, forests are pretty much the only solution that is cost effective. They can remove about 30% of the carbon dioxide that we must remove."
What WeForest Do
Conservation, protection and regeneration. Not only are they planting new trees to create new forests, but they are also saving and nurturing the forests we already have on Earth. All restoration projects are locally lead to be able to leave the restoration and development up to the community. There are programs that WeForest have created that form alternative income streams for those impoverished by deforestation, these include beekeeping, farming and being part of the restoration projects, giving them a route to the future in which chopping down trees and selling the wood wouldn't need to be done - further conserving local forests. Going forward, WeForest will continue to bring sustainable lifestyles to those communities in need, as well as form projects in areas of devastated woodland in order to create new forests and further conserve and protect forests that are still standing.
How to Get Involved in Conservation
As WeForest work in tropical locations and their local communities, so employment opportunities are focused on-site to create. Spreading the word is the key way to help and elevate WeForest to be more discoverable for brands and companies to get involved and partner to further make an impact. We must inspire the next generation and give them the tools they need to continue on and hold the torch for regeneration and reforestation. Tell your kids where their food comes from and research into the origins of the things you have, when you make a change it may seem minimal, but if the whole world thought the same way then we would see a huge impact against the difficulties our planet faces. Teaching to make informed choices is the way forward, and hopefully over the coming decades we see a shift in the world that makes people think about how much we have affected our planet, and what to do to stop it from going further, so we can live like we once did - connected with nature and looking after our planet.
