We love the natural world. You probably do too. That’s why we like you so much. 

One of our planets amazing living organisms that we tend to take for granted are trees.

We know that trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the air. Remember that science lesson in 5th grade? Trees also make up vital habitat and provide food for tens of  thousands of species around the globe.

Forest fires, deforestation, and urbanization are really impacting our trees in a big way.

While there is conflicting data out there about how fast our tree populations are declining, scientists agree that planting more “non commercial” trees (trees not used in agriculture) have massive benefits.

Two amazing groups have come together and are really making a huge difference.

Worldview International Foundation is an international non-profit. They work with villagers in rural areas, planting trees by hand, one-by-one. The project began in 2012 and so far has planted more than six million trees. While this is a massive accomplishment, WIF recognizes that humans can’t begin to cover the amount of land that could potentially be restored.

That’s where Dendra Systems comes in. This startup tech company makes commercial grade planting drones. They just recently completed their first successful year long test, planting and regrowing a small forest in Myanmar. Two operators working with ten drones can plant 400,000 trees in a single day.

Here’s the best part; this is just the beginning.

In the future, drones could help support a much more massive tree planting effort. A recent study suggests there is enough room around the globe to easily plant over 1 trillion trees, which would be enough to soak up more carbon than humans emit each year.

And that, is a big deal.

We all know a tree-hugger. Share this with them 🙂