Today, as the world searches for solutions to global climate change, tree planting has become more popular than ever. It’s a simple and appealing response to an overwhelming, existential crisis, and it makes for easy messaging: anyone can go out and plant a tree to help restore balance to Earth’s climate. But for many large-scale tree-planting initiatives, the focus is on the number of new trees that end up in the ground, not on planting the right trees in the right places or caring for them after planting to ensure they survive.
Kessler, Rebecca. “Is Planting Trees as Good for the Earth as Everyone Says?” Mongabay Environmental News, 4 June 2021, news.mongabay.com/2021/05/is-planting-trees-as-good-for-the-earth-as-everyone-says.
Planting the right trees in the right place makes sense in the grand scheme of things because conversely, planting monocultures of non-native species can impact the regulation of water cycles, soil composition, and wildlife habitat. One problem would be solved, but another would be introduced. Undoubtably, after-care is imperative, I can only hope it wasn’t a short term PR stunt.