400 acres, one Earth Day
A recap of our Earth Day fundraising efforts…
Sometimes, marking a day like Earth Day with a couple of tweets and a nice social media graphic is enough. We’d make a statement about the climate crisis and the need for change and then 24 hours later it would be forgotten.
However, Earth Day 2021 represented an opportunity to plant seeds that make a difference to those on the front lines of the climate crisis, whose livelihoods are threatened every day.
This year we wanted to fund the planting 300 acres of fruit trees in Tanzania as part of the Regenerators Appeal - and plant one of our own at Heaton Park, Newcastle, with the help of Urban Green and Traidcraft PLC.
Pictured left to right: Maveen Pereira, Director of Programmes Traidcraft Exchange, Jude Allen, Traidcraft plc, James Cross Urban Green Newcastle CEO, Sarah Capes Urban Green Ranger Team Leader
Thanks to our incredible supporters, 400 acres were funded on the day - the initial target had been reached by teatime!
Maveen Pereira, Head of Programmes at Traidcraft Exchange, explains how these trees will make a difference:
“The climate crisis is happening now and those most vulnerable are being hit the hardest. Drought and flooding - desert summers and bitter winters - lightning strikes and river erosion mean the crops needed to feed families are failing. By using green technology and planting new, climate resistant trees to protect their land, communities can fight back against the climate crisis.”
Urban Green Newcastle, a local charity who take care of Newcastle’s 33 parks and allotments are partnering with us on the initiative by offering community groups and businesses taking part the chance to plant trees locally too.
Urban Green Newcastle, CEO, James Cross said: “Any community or business taking part can bring their staff to plant trees in one of our gardens to show their solidarity at an event we’ll be hosting later in the year.
“Climate change is a global crisis. What we do in the UK affects the very poorest on the other side of the world. Teaming up with Traidcraft Exchange on their Regenerators project means we can not only plant more trees in our beautiful parks in Newcastle and reduce carbon locally, but we can also support those in Tanzania whose crops have been devastated due to climate change.”
Our friends at Traidcraft are the first business to pledge their support.
Traidcraft spokesperson Jude Allen said: “We’ve pledged to raise £4000 to plant 80 acres of trees. This is an initiative which gives us, as a business, the opportunity to add to our commitment to fight back against climate change while supporting producers. It’s also a great way to support our sister charity and get staff involved in something so positive coming out of lockdown.”
If you’re a business looking to get involved in the next stage of Plant an Acre, click the button below!