Imagine standing at the top of an escarpment, looking out over rolling hills of native forest; imagine listening to the sounds of the birds in the trees and imagine breathing in lungfuls of the freshest air.
Now, look up from your screen and look around your industrious work space, with pieces of paper being used to put down your thoughts, to give life to your ideas, to communicate with others. Listen to the tap of your keyboard, the click of your photocopier, the laughter and chatter of work mates. Pick up a piece of paper that is close to hand, touch its surface, feel the fibres of the tree in each piece and breathe in.
As you breathe out, place the paper back down and take a moment to contemplate that without trees it would be hard to have paper, and critically to our lives, without trees we would struggle to have enough oxygen to support that breath you just took.
The beauty of it is, trees are a natural, sustainable resource. If we take care about what we consume and how we replace what we consume, the buzz of the work environment can co-exist with the buzz of bees in virgin forest; and by repairing the impact we and past generations have had on our ecosystem, we can be a part of it for generations to come.
So how can you help play a part?
We are in a world, where increasing human populations demand for resources sees more and more carbon released into the atmosphere each year. Oxygen and CO2, however, are not easy to wrap your arms around, to visualise, but as a stepping stone a pile of papers and an apple are.
10 THOUSAND TREES has two key projects where you can help. Both projects soak up carbon, but neither focuses on carbon credits, rather on tangible sustainable resource development.
In Australia, by taking land that was cleared of trees generations ago and bringing native trees back that are used to produce sustainable resources such as paper, we can have the best of both worlds, a modern society that is working hard to bring balance back to the earth for today and for our children’s future.
In our newest projects in Nepal, by working with local community groups to plant fruit trees on hilly land that is otherwise left fallow, we will give locals a new income source and with it choices around their work and their children’s education; greater nutrition, as they typically wouldn’t be able to afford fruit; and better air quality as the trees soak up carbon into their roots, trunk and branches. We have also supported the creation of urban green spaces across five sites in Nepal, turning what were makeshift rubbish dumps into park land for the community, as well as planting fruit trees on these sites to demonstrate fruit production to nearby villages.
Our contributors and planting partners have not only put money and time into the planting of our trees, but have importantly got the message of sustainability, of making wiser consumption decisions and taking care of our resources out to over 4 million Australians through their communications.
The journey back to balance is an important one, and we invite you to join us. We encourage you to take another step on that journey, take a look around our website and contact us to find out how you can get involved.