Our Projects!

Our projects are selected because they represent locations that are ecologically significant and threatened by a number of different factors. We design our projects to have the most impactful affect within the greater landscape, linking isolated patches of habitat improving ecosystem health and supporting fauna and flora.

Watchbox Valley

Planted: 2,005 / Goal: 4,000

Glenaroua

Planted:1,399 / Goal: 1,400

Moonlight creek

Planted:5,539 / Goal: 27,000

Why we plant trees

Since colonial settlement, Australia has lost nearly half its forests. Most of what’s left has become highly fragmented and vulnerable. As this trend continues, the benefits we derive from our forests are vanishing. Trees serve as the perfect tool and foundation to restoring habitat in Australia. As they grow they provide valuable habitat to the surrounding species and before you know it you have a sustainable ecosystem capable of supporting itself and the native animals that call it home!

Now, more than ever, toxic pollutants that enter the atmosphere pose a threat to human well being. Harmful emissions of fine particles and gasses into the air as a result of everyday life, such as driving a car, burning fossil fuels, or industrial manufacturing, pose a suite of health risks and lower life expectancy. Trees and vegetation act as an effective sink for these atmospheric pollutants by removing them from the atmosphere and refining the air we breathe. With every tree that is planted, the air we breathe becomes cleaner and safer.

Air

Water

As the driest inhabited continent on Earth, Australia’s water security is of paramount importance. But as remnant vegetation has been removed in catchment areas, water quality and abundance has seen a marked decline. Forests actually play a vital role in increasing the amount of water retained in the landscape, increasing steady water flows and reducing flood events. Not only this, but forests naturally purify the water before it gets to the tap.

Forests play a critical role in capturing harmful greenhouse gasses that contribute to global warming. In order for trees and shrubs to grow and sustain themselves, they absorb carbon dioxide, storing it in their stems, leaves, trunks, and even in the soil around them. Forests rich in biodiversity, like those grown by aTree, are most effective at capturing carbon dioxide.

Climate

Health

By purifying the air we breathe and the water we drink, forests help prevent a myriad of health complications that would otherwise be far more prolific. Estimates from the United States valued the human health benefits of air-purification from trees at US$6.8 billion in 2010 alone. Without forest cover to naturally filter harmful toxins from water catchments, we have to turn to expensive filtration infrastructure to provide safe drinking water. One study shows the water treatment costs of catchments with 60% cover were half compared to those with 30% cover.

Biodiversity

Australian forests host some of the richest biodiversity in the world. As these forests are becoming more scarce, the available habitat for many species is becoming narrower, leaving them vulnerable to extinction. By re-vegetating the land with high-quality, native forests, we can have a direct impact on the resilience of important and vulnerable plants and animals. Many that are found nowhere else on Earth.

Biodiversity by definition is the variety and variability of life in a given area. It is seen and valued as critically important as it regulates and value adds to the productivity of the local and extended ecosystem. Biodiversity is recognised as a pillar of our living infrastructure providing and supporting many ecosystem services necessary for life!

Australia in conjunction with the United Nations has recognised the current biodiversity crisis and named this decade the ‘Decade on Ecosystem Restoration’ prioritises the need to support Australian biodiversity.

Explained

How we establish trees

For every $3 you donate to an aTree project, we will ensure a tree is planted there, established, and its forest legally protected forever. For best results, we plant during the Australian winter (June-August) and purchase the materials a few months in advance.

We establish our trees using a range of methods that suit the location, habitat type and condition of the landscape. In some cases this will be solely using seedlings making sure to replant any of the young trees that don’t make it. In most cases we implement a combined strategy of seed and seedlings. This ensures that we provide the best chances for the longterm establishment of your trees and forest.

In both cases we conduct regular monitoring to maintain that all the trees that you have purchased are surviving and thriving, doing their job as habitat restorers!

Where we plant

We currently have three locations around Victoria, all chosen because they are located in particularly biodiverse or threatened regions and reconnect isolated habitat.

We look forward to adding many more!