An article by the Global Tree Initiative director, Jacie Keeley.

Over the last couple of years, you have surely seen the mission statement of the Global Tree Initiative (GTI):

Plant YOUR tree
Grow OUR forest
Save THEIR future!

…but what does it mean?
This is a topic worthy of investigation. Let’s unravel it.

We must start by acknowledging that currently there are great environmental changes like global warming occurring on our planet. Further we must consider that the culprit in this drama is human activity.

Human activity particularly in the form of the combustion of fossil fuels but, also, in deforestation, logging, urbanization, and more are altering the climate system.

The key is that we must all work together! Unless we all work together, there is no solution to our global problems. Individual organizations & single nations are helpless.

“It is no longer enough to think only of “my country,” “my people,” “us” and “them,” the Dalai Lama writes in, Our Only Home: A Climate Appeal to The World. “Our world is deeply interdependent, not only in terms of our economies but also in facing the challenge of climate change…”

So, this is where the mission of the Global Tree Initiative comes into play.

Plant YOUR tree, Grow OUR forest, Save Their future.

Together, one tree at a time planted by everyone, we grow our collective forest that can save the future of our children…and their children…

This present-day calamity is teaching us the valuable lesson of interdependence.

The right to a safe, healthy, and ecologically balanced environment is basic. But we cannot look at anyone else and expect them to solve our problems.   It starts with everyone doing their job, planting their tree, and holding hands with their neighbor as they plant their tree and so on…  Like this, we will weave a net of protection around this beautiful blue planet, our only home, through a deepening sense of, “Universal Responsibility.”

It is easy to understand the appeal of forests as a solution to the climate crisis. However, it is also crystal clear that tree planting alone, without the feeling of being One Universal Family, is not a long-term fix for our ongoing climate emergency.

We must focus on creating community; where each of us works individually together to build a brighter, more wholesome future, one seed at a time from the ground up…. for all of us.

We must see ourselves as brothers and sisters each respecting the other with a sense of closeness.  We must understand with our heart that the desires of others are the same as our own: every being wants happiness and does not want suffering.

Anything great or small, starts with one initial step.

In the face of such global problems as the climate emergency, you are invited to be part of the solution. Please, join the Global Tree Initiative in our mission:

Plant YOUR tree; Grow OUR Forest; Save THEIR future

We are One Universal Family.

“Together we can create a conscious, wise, warm-hearted world of peace, where people respect and live in harmony with animals and the environment!”