Two Million Trees
JUNE 2018 UPDATE: WE DID IT!!!!!!!
To mark and celebrate EOCA being ten years old and having raised and given €2 million to conservation in 2016, the Association launched an ambitious plan to plant / regenerate 2 million trees.
As part of the 2 Million Tree Project, we launched a project that anyone can get involved in – to help us raise more money for more trees and leave a legacy from the European outdoor industry and outdoor enthusiasts everywhere!
2,516,276 trees planted
Trees provide countless benefits including:
– Stability on slopes, reducing avalanches and landslides
– Protecting coastlines, reducing the impact of flooding, high tides and tsunamis
– Improving soils and providing income
– Providing habitat for huge amounts of wildlife
– Mitigating against climate change, absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen
– Providing exciting and stunning wild places for outdoor enthusiasts
Since this target was launched in 2016, EOCA committed to fund 6 new tree planting projects in 2016 which together will plant a total of just over 1,000,000 trees. Further projects were funded in 2017 and 2018. In addition, EOCA members The North Face, LOWA, WL Gore, KEEN, Eso Es Konzepte! and Marmot have been planting trees of their own accord. In addition, Summit Members Original Buff,S.A. and KEEN have committed to funding additional projects to add to this total.
To reach our 2 Million target, we launched a public fundraiser to fund a project to plant another 80,000 trees in a hotspot destination for outdoor enthusiasts: Nepal.
Public Fundraiser: Another 80,000 trees!
This project, run by The Mountain Institute (TMI), is based in Nepal and will plant 80,000 trees in Nepal along 3 off-the-beaten track trekking trails. The area is degraded due to hunting, poaching, illegal timber and collection of medicinal and aromatic plants – made worse by the 2015 earthquakes and subsequent landslides. The project will establish nurseries, create a sustainable community resource to prevent further deforestation, train local people with new skills and knowledge for a more sustainable approach to natural resources, plant 80,000 native and locally grown saplings and strengthen the communities’ potential to benefit from visiting trekkers and eco tourism.
So for every €1 donated, we will be able to plant another 2.5 trees for this degraded area! A donation of just €10 will plant another 25……
Due to the generosity of EOCA members, as well as members of the public, we are delighted that we have raised the €30,000 the project needs to carry out its work.
You can still support EOCA and its other many projects however by donating via PayPal below.
Having announced at OutDoor 2018 that EOCA and its members had successfully achieved – and in fact beaten -its target of planting/restoring over 2 million trees, we were delighted to hear that another member – ENO – had been planting a tree for each hammock sold and have planted more that an incredible 435,000 trees ths year!! This brings our total to 2,516,276! We are very proud of the legacy that the outdoor industry is leaving with this initiative.
Our Tree Projects
The Banda Aceh area is still struggling with the after effects of the 2004 tsunami. All of the mangroves were lost, resulting in lack of important shade, loss of habitat for small fish and therefore food and income for the villagers and seawater now comes onto the land making it impossible to grow crops.
The aim of Klekovoca Mountaineering Society is to create conditions for mountaineering activities, protect nature through educational activities, construction and maintenance of hiking trails, organising activities and events, all giving special attention to protection and conservation of Mount Kozara.
10,000 native trees for Froxán Community, Spain
www.iccaregistry.org/en/explore/Spain/Froxan-Common-Woodlands
Funded: 2018
2 organisations are working together to create the Froxán Foundation: Verdegaia protects the environment and promotes conservation. Sociedade Histórica e Cultural Coluna Sanfins works with the commons stewardship body in biodiversity conservation, restoration of degraded areas and environmental education and both hold responsibility for the Froxán ICCA Community Conserved Area.
The Banda Aceh area is still struggling with the after effects of the 2004 tsunami. All of the mangroves were lost, resulting in lack of important shade, loss of habitat for small fish and therefore food and income for the villagers and seawater now comes onto the land making it impossible to grow crops. Funded by KEEN
The purpose of Asociatia pentru Conservarea Diversitatii Biologice (ACDB) is to support and promote biodiversity conservation activities, environmental education and environmental protection.The aim of this project is to conserve and restore aquatic habitats for otters in a protected area in the Vrancea mountains in the Carpathians of SE Romania by engaging local communities and outdoor enthusiasts.
The John Muir Trust is a UK conservation charity dedicated to protecting wild places. It works to restore the rich wildlife and habitats of wild land, helping native woodland and peatland to thrive. The Trust also campaigns for long term legal protection of wild land and educate people on conservation of these areas. Funded by Original Buff, S.A.
The Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project aims to conserve the highly threatened populations of wild chimpanzees living in unprotected, rapidly disappearing habitat alongside poor, rural farmers in Western Uganda’s critical Budongo-Bugoma corridor landscape.
TMI The Mountain Institute is committed to protecting mountain environments and improving the livelihoods of impoverished mountain people. By conserving ecosystems and empowering the people in mountain communities, TMI ensures the preservation of resources – natural, cultural and spiritual – that are crucial to maintaining a healthy planet.
Yayasan Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI)’s mission is to improve both environmental and human health around Gunung Palung National Park, a 100,000 + hectare protected area of Borneo’s forests, home to 5-10% of the world’s orangutans. Tying together healthcare and conservation initiatives to break the dangerous cycle of poverty, poor health and environmental destruction, ASRI engages with local communities to provide high quality, low-cost healthcare in exchange for a commitment to protect natural resources.
Mount Kenya Trust (MKT) works to protect and conserve the forest, water and wildlife around Africa’s second highest mountain – Mount Kenya. It strives to drive collaborative action for the sustainable management of Mt Kenya’s biodiversity and natural resources through partnership with government, communities and civil society.
RIPPLE Africa is a small UK registered charity running grassroots projects in northern Malawi. These projects empower communities to achieve a sustainable future by providing a ‘hand up’ and not a ‘hand out’ RIPPLE Africa’s strength is in working in partnership with local communities on a long-term basis to help them find simple, community-led solutions to environmental problems threatening their future.
WeForest, Making Earth Cooler, develops and implements large-scale landscape reforestation projects as a scalable solution for mitigating climate change, preserving biodiversity and alleviating poverty.
Blue Ventures is a marine conservation organisation that aims to rebuild tropical fisheries with the poorest coastal communities. Founded in 2003, their work has evolved to incorporate a holistic, integrated approach to marine conservation, encompassing marine and fisheries management, sustainable coastal livelihoods, education and community health.
Trees for Life has the goal of restoring the Caledonian Forest, and all its constituent species of flora and fauna to the Scottish highlands. It enlists volunteers of all ages in the practical work to achieve this, and promotes the work of restoration and increased support for the return of the forest.
