Plant a tree to save the Earth

Why are trees important?

• After oceans, forests are the planet’s greatest storehouse of carbon
• Forests are habitats (for 80% of the world’s on-land biodiversity)
• Forests form the source of livelihood for many human settlements, including 60 million indigenous people
• Forests provide jobs to more than 13 million people across the world.

Source: WWF 2019

How are trees under threat?

Threats to the Rainforests

Deforestation for agriculture (primarily beef, soy, and palm oil)

Forest fire caused by human activity

Harvesting of wood as a resource (timber, paper products)

Threats to Canadian forests

Forest fire caused by human activity

Invasive Species

Harvesting of wood as a resource (timber, paper products)

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Opt for beef raised in Canada

The greatest reason for deforestation in the Amazon rainforest is clearing for cattle ranching. Purchasing beef that has been raised in Canada provides greater assurance of the agircultural practises, and also supports local community and economy.

Refrain from buying products containing palm oil 

The majority of the world’s palm oil is produced in Malaysia and Indonesia. The demand for agicultural land for palm oil production has resulted in vast deforestation of the countries’ rainforests.

Palm oil is in countless products, from candy bars to margarine to lipstick. Make sure to read labels to see which products contain palm oil and its derivitives (a.k.a palm kernel oil, palmate, palmitate).

Volunteer or donate

There are many efforts occuring at both the local and global level that are takingn action on and making real progress towards forest conservation, afforestation, and restoration.

Look for these labels when buying: Coffee – Tea – Cocoa