Did you know that a round-trip flight from New York, NY to San Jose, Costa Rica produces an estimated ton of CO2 per passenger? And that it takes one healthy, tropical tree a maximum of 40 years (or 40 trees one year) to offset that single trip? Truly, “the best time to plant a tree was [40] years ago, and the second-best time is today.” Forests are the lungs of our planet. They breathe for everyone. And yet, humans have been clear-cutting trees faster and more recklessly than ever before. And many of us are traveling faster, farther, and more frequently too; producing alarming levels of carbon dioxide each year that threaten the balance of life on Earth. At this moment in time, it is on us as individuals to act from a place of responsibility and accountability to the rest of the beings that share our beautiful planet. As forest farmers, we can help. We work with the natural cycles of the jungle to grow nutritious food crops under the protective, shady canopy of tropical trees. We plant and nurture trees just like our other crops - they just take longer to grow! After about 25 years, some of our trees are selectively harvested for sustainable lumber, and carry their sequestered carbon with them in the form of wood. Most trees are left behind to compose what will, eventually, return to pristine rainforest. It takes hundreds of years for a stand of trees to become a true forest, but with your help, we can plant and nurture saplings into giants that provide food, shade, and shelter for a vast array of jungle creatures, and sequester tons of carbon from our atmosphere. DETAILS Are you planning a trip? You can use this calculator to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide that will be produced from your travel, and then sponsor trees in our food forest to offset your journey. You can also sponsor food forest trees to offset your personal carbon footprint, even if you’re not traveling. One sponsorship covers the cost of planting one tree and nurturing it into a state of independence - the tree will be strong enough to withstand the tropical heat and stand tall and strong above other foliage. That’s about a 5-year process. When you sponsor trees with us, you will be able to receive our annual impact updates so you can keep track of how the sponsored trees are doing, and how they connect to our larger reforestation and food forest mission. CONSIDERATIONS & SOURCES There are many factors that need to be considered when calculating precise carbon sequestration, such as tree species, climate, etc. It’s important to understand that we have provided these reference numbers as estimates made in good faith to make this process as simple and streamlined as possible. Sources: “Tropical climates support greatly the sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide and documented at an average of 50 pounds of carbon dioxide per tree per year.” Egbuche, Christian. (2018). Carbon sequestration: how much can forestry sequester CO2?. Forestry Research and Engineering: International Journal. 2. 10.15406/freij.2018.02.00040.
