One Million Trees - A Campaign Success
On a small hill over looking Lake Ziway in Ethiopia’s Great Rift Valley, a group of schoolkids gathered to plant trees.
The event in spring 2021 marked the formal culmination of a year-long cam paign to plant one million new trees in Africa.
The 30 small saplings that were planted by the children and their parents out side Abossa village brought to 480,000 the number of tree seedlings planted at Lake Ziway, and to one million the trees to have been planted by the campaign.
Launched in February 2020, One Million Trees set out to plant a million trees in Africa, as well as 100,000 native trees in Ireland and the UK. Sponsored by Ireland’s premium yogurt producers, Glenisk, and featured on millions of pots of organic bio pot yogurt, the cam paign captured the public imagination. Thousands of people donated, while a number of corporate backers also came
on board and lent their support.
While Self Help Africa and our local partners in Africa planted trees in proj ects from Uganda and Kenya to Burkina Faso and Ethiopia, a partnership with environmental NGO Trees on the Land helped plant native trees in Ireland.
Supporters who signed up to support the campaign – in some instances contributing just €5 to plant 10 trees in Africa and one native tree in Ireland or the UK – received reports of where their trees had been planted, including GPS coordinates of each tree planting location in Africa.
Close to 5,000
individuals sent
in donations,
while a number of corporate backers came on board and lent their support
The campaign message was simple and effective - ‘you can plant trees, offset your carbon footprint and make an envi ronmental difference, while also contrib uting to the lives and the welfare of rural poor communities in Africa - where trees are a source of food, income, shade, shelter and much more.’
In March 2021 a new collaboration, Another One Million Trees was launched with Glenisk, with a similar goal to plant trees in Africa and Ireland, while an additional dimension was added as Irish companies were invited to plant trees to offset the carbon footprint of their businesses.
Lesson Plans
We know children are passionate and very knowledgeable about climate change and the main causes of it, and we firmly believe that getting them to plant trees could be the perfect way for them to become part of the solution. We hope using your tree planting as a starting point, you can share information about trees both in Ireland and Africa to extend pupils’ learning inside the classroom.
The resource material has been developed by teachers and complements the current curriculum and provides a short lesson plan on native Irish trees and African trees. They are available for 4 groups:
This initiative is proudly supported by the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO).
In Africa, the people least responsible for climate change are feeling its worst effects.
Self Help Africa supports communities to plant trees: which provide shade, shelter, food, fertiliser and income.
Plant trees. Reduce carbon and combat poverty.
Let's Plant!
Find out more about Self Help Africa's work on climate change
Self Help Africa works to help protect smallholder farmers in rural Africa to help fight against the worst effects of climate change.
View info on our other work in tree planting and climate change.
View other stories relating to our work in Africa.
View our Tree Directory to see all the different trees we will be planting.
View our campaign FAQ.
Corporate Tree Planting Days (in Ireland)
