In today’s world, we find ourselves facing problems that seem unsolvable. Perhaps one of the reasons we feel this way is because, for many of us, we don’t know how to act in a way that is different from how we’ve always done things. Climate change demands a radical re-framing of how we tackle it.
Business-as-usual is what got us into our situation; as such, we need innovative solutions to overcome the challenges we face. Many organizations are pushing for the changes that we need, and many people have ideas to improve our world; however, they do not get recognition for their work. UpLink’s Trillion Trees United States Challenge is one of the few initiatives designed to showcase the important work individuals and their companies do to save the planet. After sourcing submissions for two months, they have selected nine eco-entrepreneurs who are paving the way for other environmentally conscious companies to follow.
Changing how we view nature and act accordingly is important in finance and business. For most companies, trees are a resource to be extracted and manufactured into products. However, as we go forward, keeping trees in the ground is showing to be its own asset.
Cultivo Land is a company that understands this idea well, as it unlocks investments in trees as “natural capital” that individuals and businesses can invest in. These investments go directly into the pockets of the landowners and land stewards, thus regenerating nature and helping those dedicated to preserving it. Urban spaces, too, are in desperate need of becoming green. Studies show that by going green, mental health benefits become apparent in the population, and general wellness improves.
Green Pocket Forests’ is greenifying urban environments using the Miyawaki ultra-dense urban planning method. Traditional and new techniques, as well as their integration, is critical to succeeding in saving our planet.
Land Life Company is gearing up for the task. They work to create collaborative partnerships integrating data and technology with traditional and local knowledge to increase the scale and effectiveness of reforestation across North America.
Natural Urban Forests is a Seattle startup that works similarly to Green Pocket Forests by utilizing the Miyawaki method to increase biodiversity and habitat stability and offset carbon emissions.
Climate change continues to increase the rate of forest fires, and as a result, OroraTech was established to provide real-time fire awareness and monitoring.
PanoAI works in a similar vein, using AI as a tool to recognize when new fires are starting.
As for the growth of new trees, Pact Renewables Pty exists to provide better planting pots for tree planters, utilizing their proprietary “dPOT technology” to help scale and increase the survivability of tree planting activities. Keeping an eye on the trees themselves is important as well.
Treeswift has created high-resolution sensors that operate underneath the canopy of the forest to help forest managers and owners keep their forests well-kept and maintained.
Moving forward despite the challenges ahead of us is not going to be easy, which is why building mass support for the solutions to climate change is incredibly important. Many organizations have successfully shown that people can be made aware of the crisis that faces us. However, what needs to be done now is building engagement with the ways in which we build our way out of it.
1t.org has done us an incredibly large service by providing these individuals and their companies with ways in which they can bring their solutions to a wider audience, and going forward; we hope that we can keep the ball rolling in building support for these initiatives.