Protecting SKOOT's trees

When partnering with a tree planting organisation, we wanted to ensure the forests SKOOT plants become permanent and sustainable. With the help of our trusted partner Eden, they have implemented the following steps to ensure that our trees live as long as possible.

• Eden work carefully with all levels of the government to secure written agreements designating the restoration sites as protected in perpetuity.
• Eden does not plant in logging areas as there is never a 100% guarantee that some form of illegal harvest will not occur. However, their sites are within legal limits, which guarantees the trees will be there permanently.
• They hire locals to plant the trees, which alleviates extreme poverty within the impacted community. The community members get an economic incentive to ensure the well-being of the restoration project.
• Eden ensures the community has a sense of “ownership” over the trees and restored forest, and they protect it with great care.
• They plant agroforestry species (fruit, fodder, and construction species designed to provide food security and benefit legitimate human needs). Over time these trees become a source of sustainable income.
• Eden hires forest guards as part of the labor force, and they have recently created a Forest Guard Endowment Fund for long-term guarding and protection of their sites.

Eden helps the community recognise and see the benefits from the restored forest through increased fisheries, improved farming, cleaner water, and the formation of micro-enterprises. To date, we have planted over 371,000 trees, and we want to continue this with your help.

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