When I was in Primary school, our class decided to plant a tree near the school’s playground area. A gaggle of 20 or so 7 year olds would crowd around a tiny palm sapling, watering it, telling it stories, and dropping by during recess, using our grubby baby hands to swat away the equally grubby, equally small hands of other kids. My brother included. I’m told it was quite the (adorable) spectacle by my mom, an English teacher at the Middle school division at the time.
Fast forward 13 years, that tree no longer exists. Someone had kicked a little too hard and snapped the developing trunk in half. While I had transferred to another school and was not there for that particular debacle, my old friends were, and recounted the story to me, leading me to wonder what the point of the tree was in the first place. Maybe it was a class pet, much easier to care for than a fish, hamster, fish, parrot, lizard, oh did I mention fish?
(Some fishes were harmed in the experiment known as ‘class pets’.)
It took looking through my old school graduation albums to remember why we had planted a tree in the first place; 2011 was when my child-brain had began learning in school about global warming, how scary it was, and how trees would help solve the issue by providing the skies with air!
A sentiment shared by many; back in 2019, behemoth Youtube personalities Mr. Beast (Jimmy Donaldson) and Mark Rober (an ex-NASA engineer) started an initiative called ‘Team Trees’, aimed at raising $20 million. For every $1, a tree would be planted. The project was said to be spurred by the 2019 Amazon rainforest fires. Currently, the initiative pulled together more than $24 million. Inspired by the major “success” of Team Trees, the duo further launched ‘Team Seas’, aimed at fundraising for beach-cleaning operations and removing 1 pound of marine debris for every $1. Similar to its sister project, Team Seas grew immensely popular, amassing almost $34 million.
However, were these initiatives truly all that successful? Are they the answer to bigger problems of global warming and greenhouse gas emissions? According to the Vox article from class, several horticultural authorities, and some other environmentalists, the answer is a “sort of, maybe not quite”.
Much like the tree my class planted all those years ago, these trees can only truly do their job of oxygen-generation and carbon dioxide-absorption if they are properly cared for. Much like how Rome wasn’t built in day, trees don’t grow overnight. Unless it’s bamboo, but even one of the fastest growing trees takes care and monitoring in order to fully grow. According to Eike Lüdeling, department head of horticultural sciences at the University of Bonn, “Sometimes it’s probably a better idea to plant fewer trees and really take care of them.” (https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/25/20932700/youtubers-climate-change-team-trees) Long-term survival is key for trees because for them to be able to offset the greenhouse gas emissions humans generate, they need to live for at least 100 years. Will the trees planted by Mr Beast and Mark Rober’s teams last that long? That remains to be seen.
Furthermore, planting trees will not solve the current issues of greenhouse gas emissions. What’s the point in planting more trees only to mow them down later to create farmland?
While many companies and private citizens like to think of planting trees as a way of reducing carbon footprints and “giving back” to the environment, initiatives such as Team Trees and the infamous Billion Tree Tsunami (another tree-planting project that was riddled with issues, here’s a link if you’re interested in the topic; https://pakistan.shafaqna.com/EN/90005) are not as effective as long-term solutions. While planting trees is a good thing, as the Vox article quotes Karen Holl, a professor of environmental studies and restoration expert at the University of California Santa Cruz; “we’re not going to plant our way out of climate change” (https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/22679378/tree-planting-forest-restoration-climate-solutions). Initiatives to plant trees in droves must also be committed to the protection, preservation, and maintenance of the trees they grow, not just as a project, but lives. As the cool kids say; “it’s not a phase, mom, it’s a lifestyle!” (my brother in his emo phase, probably, 2016)