Team Trees (stylized as #TEAMTREES) is a collaborative fundraiser that raised 20 million U.S. dollars before the start of 2020 to plant 20 million trees. The initiative was started by American YouTubers MrBeast and Mark Rober, and was mostly supported by YouTubers.[1] All donations go to the Arbor Day Foundation, a tree planting organization that pledges to plant one tree for every U.S. dollar donated.[2] The Arbor Day Foundation began planting in January 2020 with plans to end "no later than December 2022".[2][3] It is estimated that 23 million trees would take up 210 km2 (81 sq mi) of land,[4] absorb around 1.6 million tons of carbon and remove 116 thousand tons of pollutants from the atmosphere.[5][6]
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| Date | October 25, 2019 – present |
|---|---|
| Also known as |
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| Cause | Deforestation |
| Motive | To take action against deforestation by planting 20 million trees |
| Target | To raise $20 million crowdfunded U.S. dollars |
| Organized by | |
| Website | teamtrees.org |
Background
editThe idea started on May 24, 2019, when a fan suggested on Reddit that MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) should plant 20 million trees to celebrate reaching 20 million subscribers on YouTube.[7][3] The idea spread across YouTube, Reddit, and Twitter, mostly in the form of memes.[2][3] The idea may have been related to the 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires. American YouTuber, engineer, and inventor Mark Rober partnered directly with Donaldson to launch the fundraiser. On October 25, 2019, Donaldson uploaded a YouTube video explaining his plan,[8][9] which claimed the top spot on YouTube's trending page, and caused numerous YouTubers to join the movement.[3][10]
The trees will be planted "in a variety of forests on public and private lands in areas of great need" starting in January 2020. The goal is to have them planted "no later than December 2022".[2][3]
As of September 5, 2024, the project has raised over $24,779,606 exceeding the fundraiser's goal to plant 20 million trees. As anticipated, more than 20 million trees have been planted.[11]
Responses
editMany YouTubers created content to capitalize on the growing trend of Team Trees;[3] despite the Arbor Day Foundation reaching out to only a few hundred creators, Team Trees is now featured in over 80,000 videos from over 4200 global creators. Across Instagram and Twitter over 556,001 posts have garnered more than 4.6 billion views.[12]
Discovery Channel made a documentary called #TeamTrees about the campaign which aired on December 3, 2019, coupled with a donation of USD $100,203 the next day.[13]
Eike Lüdeling, the department head of horticultural sciences at the University of Bonn, stated, "It turns out that many of these seedlings, if you don't do this well or if people do it who don’t really care about those trees, then they all just die quickly. Sometimes it’s probably a better idea to plant fewer trees and really take care of them." Danny Cohn, the director of public relations for the Arbor Day Foundation, addressed these concerns, stating that "the partners who work with the organization are all required to have plans to help their trees thrive."[14]
Planting projects
editPlanting locations of Team Trees include:[15]
| Location | Country | Continent | Number of Trees | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andes | Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru | South America | 300,000 | Completed |
| Central and Northern Victoria | Australia | Oceania | 75,000 | Completed |
| Eastern Queensland | 300,000 | Completed | ||
| Amazon rainforest | Brazil | South America | 600,000 | Completed |
| Atlantic Forest | 170,000 | Completed | ||
| Burundi | Africa | 100,000 | Completed | |
| Area of 2017 Elephant Hill Fire, British Columbia | Canada | North America | 170,000 | Completed |
| Area of 2017 Hanceville Fire, British Columbia | 150,000 | Completed | ||
| The Great Green Wall | Chad, Mali, Senegal | Africa | 3,840,000 | Completed |
| Minqin County, Gansu Province | China | Asia | 25,000 | Completed |
| Gaizhou, Liaoning Province | China | 45,000 | Completed | |
| Dominican Republic | North America | 200,000 | Completed | |
| France | Europe | 150,000 | Completed | |
| Haiti | North America | 1,050,000 | Completed | |
| Cauvery River Basin | India | Asia | 905,439 | Completed |
| West Papua Province | Indonesia | 450,000 | Completed | |
| Ireland | Europe | 100,000 | Completed | |
| Kijabe Forest | Kenya | Africa | 950,000 | Completed |
| Xe Sap and Xe Pian National Protected Areas | Laos | Asia | 30,000 | |
| Kianjavato Mountain Range | Madagascar | Africa | 400,000 | Completed |
| 600,000 | Completed | |||
| Mozambique | 1,252,007 | Completed | ||
| Chitwan National Park | Nepal | Asia | 885,000 | Completed |
| Auckland | New Zealand | Oceania | 28,789 | Completed |
| Maitai valley | 32,590 | Completed | ||
| Nicaragua | North America | 975,000 | Completed | |
| Peru | South America | 235,800 | Completed | |
| Portugal | Europe | 10,000 | Completed | |
| Freetown Peninsula | Sierra Leone | Africa | 80,000 | Completed |
| Palencia | Spain | Europe | 4,200 | Completed |
| Mae Hong Son Province | Thailand | Asia | 50,000 | Completed |
| Adana Province | Turkey | 60,000 | Completed | |
| İzmir Province | 50,000 | Completed | ||
| United Kingdom | Europe | 24,000 | Completed | |
| 50,000 | Completed | |||
| Mersey Forest | 270,000 | Completed | ||
| Southeastern United States | United States | North America | 1,000,000 | Completed |
| Mississippi River Valley in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi | 1,000,000 | |||
| Butte County, California | 100,000 | Completed | ||
| Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida | 983,000 | Completed | ||
| Watersheds in Georgia | 450,000 | Completed | ||
| Michigan State Forests | 2,207,067 | Completed | ||
| Bitterroot National Forest, Montana | 63,800 | Completed | ||
| Flathead and Kootenai National Forests, Montana | 281,132 | Completed | ||
| Gallatin National Forest, Montana | 275,000 | Completed | ||
| Nebraska National Forest, Nebraska | 40,000 | Completed | ||
| Bladen Lakes State Forest, North Carolina | 197,555 | Completed | ||
| Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon | 23,100 | Completed | ||
| Willamette River Basin, Oregon | 500,000 | Completed | ||
| South Carolina | 1,350,000 | Completed | ||
| Rappahannock River Watershed, Virginia | 50,000 | Completed | ||
| Washington | 650,000 | Completed |
Team Seas
editOn October 29, 2021, MrBeast and Mark Rober teamed up again to launch Team Seas, a successor to the project that aimed to help clean up marine debris. As with the Team Trees campaign, many influencers had also joined in spreading the message to help the project be a success. While the project is international, MrBeast and Mark Rober traveled to the Dominican Republic to help clean up there and address issues with trash collection in underdeveloped and underserved areas.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Williams, David (October 30, 2019). "YouTube star MrBeast wants to plant 20 million trees. As Of 1st Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, and more helped him succeed". CNN. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Alexander, Julia (October 25, 2019). "MrBeast partners with more than 600 YouTubers, including PewDiePie and MKBHD, to plant 20 million trees". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Tenbarge, Kat (October 27, 2019). "Here's why the top YouTubers from all corners of the platform are talking about planting 20 million trees for #TeamTrees". Insider. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ Allain, Rhett (October 25, 2019). "Can We Plant 20 Million Trees for 2020? The Math Says Yes". Wired. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ "Impact of the Time for Trees Initiative". Arbor Day Foundation. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
- ^ Mellor, Maria (November 1, 2019). "YouTubers (and Elon Musk) want to plant millions of trees. Will it help fight climate change?". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
- ^ "Please save us MrBeast". Reddit. May 24, 2019. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ "Planting 20,000,000 Trees, My Biggest Project Ever!". YouTube. October 25, 2019. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- ^ Cheok, Melissa (October 31, 2019). "Musk Donates 1 Million Trees to Global Reforestation Campaign". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ^ Calma, Justine (October 25, 2019). "Planting trees to take on climate change isn't as easy as YouTubers might think". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ^ "Team Trees homepage".
- ^ "20M Trees Achieved! Go #TeamTrees". TINTup.com. December 19, 2019. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ Meyers, Alyssa (November 20, 2019). "Discovery Channel is making a feature about YouTuber MrBeast's #TeamTrees movement, which has raised millions to plant trees". Business Insider. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ Calma, Justine (October 25, 2019). "Planting trees to take on climate change isn't as easy as YouTubers might think". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ "Help Us Plant 24 Million Trees - Join #TeamTrees". teamtrees.org. Archived from the original on May 17, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2022.