Before/After

Location: Dumyat, Scotland

Dates: February 2023 – June 2024

Project: The Future Forest Company

Type: Reforestation and habitat restoration

These photos were taken by one of our very own team members on a visit to The Future Forest Company's Dumyat site near Stirling. We’re working with The Future Forest Company to help reforest the 480ha estate, which sits within the beautiful Ochil Hills of Scotland.

Over 340,000 trees have been planted as part of the project, and in this picture you can clearly see the transformation of this site as the beginnings of a wildlife-rich habitat supported by lots of new healthy trees starts to form.

Through carefully managed woodland creation and habitat restoration, our partners at The Future Forest Company are working hard to create a haven of nature to be enjoyed by wildlife, visitors and the local community.

Location: Tambacounda Region, Senegal

Dates: January 2023 - September 2023

Project: Hommes et Terre

Type: Restoring degraded land

These images come from a project that is run by one of our reforestation partners, Hommes et Terre, in the Tambacounda region of Senegal.

The Tambacounda region has a semi-arid climate due to its location in the Sahel belt - a biogeographic region which spans thousands of kilometres across the African continent. The hot, dry climate means that the communities living in this region are hugely affected by climate change. Droughts are frequent and months can often pass without rainfall, leading to desertification and land degradation.

The aim of the project is to restore 245 hectares of degraded land, which will help the local communities adapt to the impacts of climate change and to provide them with fertile land. Seeds were planted in mid-2023, and already an estimated 620,000 trees are growing at the site, with 7 different species recorded within monitoring plots so far!

Location: Ouarzazate, Morocco

Dates: 2015 –2020

Project: Verified Carbon Standard

Type: Solar energy

From a bare area of desert to a haven of clean energy. The Ouarzazate II solar project is a major milestone in Morocco's journey towards a clean energy future. It is one of the largest concentrated solar power plants in the world and is expected to supply around 500 GWh per year to Morocco’s power grid.

The project uses thousands of concave mirrors to concentrate solar energy and generate electricity, which can be stored for up to 7 hours. This allows the project to continue generating electricity even after the sun sets.

The Ouarzazate II solar project supplies electricity to nearly 2 million Moroccans and will prevent emissions equivalent to 300,544 tCO2e per year over its 10 year crediting period. The project has also created around 7,000 local jobs and incorporated co-projects that promote the creation of cooperatives, educational opportunities, and skills training.

Location: Brodoclea, North Ayrshire, Scotland

Dates: 2018 –2021

Project: Future Forest Company

Type: Temperate reforestation

Nestled in North Ayrshire, Brodoclea is a sprawling 174-hectare haven of broadleaf woodland that plays host to woolly pigs, the incredible ecological restoration engineers! 

Under The Future Forest Company's guidance, these pigs awaken the soil seed bank, nourish soil microbiology, create space for sapling growth, reduce competition, and form pondlets for breeding amphibians and invertebrates. This enriches the ecosystem, offering sustenance for birds and materials for nests. 

Since 2018, the Ecologi community has helped make a significant impact on this site, funding the planting of 56,170 trees, with a focus on native broadleaf species including oak and birch, creating important habitat for local invertebrate and bird species.

Location: Belavenika, Madagascar.

Dates: 2019 –2022

Project: Eden Reforestation Projects

Type: Mangrove reforestation

Madagascar’s mangroves are amazing habitats that, sadly, have been deforested over the years and become degraded. This project is one of three currently being supported by the Ecologi community that are replanting mangroves in Madagascar to bring benefits to local biodiversity and communities.

Creating new sustainable income streams for local people is a key component of the project, as is female empowerment. The project employs an average of 85 people per month, with female employees making up approximately 37.5% of the workforce in 2022.

As a result of their involvement in this project, local people are now able to purchase more nutritious food, leading to improved health, and can afford to send their children to school.

To date, the Ecologi community has funded 7.9 million trees on this site in north-west Madagascar.

Location: Marotaola, Madagascar.

Dates: 2019 –2022

Project: Eden Reforestation Projects

Type: Mangrove reforestation

This was the very first project we supported, so it holds a special place in our hearts. Seeing its progress over the last four years has brought us so much joy! 

Native mangrove species are being planted on this site, including Avicennia marina, Rhizophora mucronata, and Ceriops tagal. To date, the Ecologi community has funded the planting of over 10 million trees here, and there’s room for another million. 

This site is particularly fascinating as the mangroves are only separated from the open ocean by a thin strip of sand about 100m wide. Despite being more exposed to the ocean, mangroves that have successfully become established are growing well, creating an important habitat for coastal biodiversity and protecting the coastline from erosion by the waves.

Location: Vĩnh Hảo, Tuy Phong District, Bình Thuận, Vietnam

Dates: 2018 –2023

Project: Verified Carbon Standard

Type: Solar

Vietnam's demand for energy has been rising sharply since the 1990s, and it’s a demand that the country has struggled to fulfil, with an overreliance on coal and frequent power outages.

This project, in the Vinh Hao commune, Vietnam, is generating electricity using photovoltaic technology, which transforms sunlight into electricity. The project is on around 60ha of salt farm, and will generate 83,750MWh of power annually.

Local people have been involved throughout the design phase and operation of the project. The construction process of the project was carefully managed to minimise the impact on the local environment. During the operation of the project, pollution will also be minimised through a series of measures, including ensuring no littering takes place, and waste materials will be responsibly disposed of off-site.

Over the 10-year crediting period, the project will prevent 704,110tCO2e from being emitted by replacing energy in the grid that would otherwise have come from fossil fuels.

Location: Mount Elgon, Uganda. 

Dates: 2021 – 2023

Project: Trees for the Future

Type: Reforestation and sustainable agroforestry

Trees for the Future’s innovative Forest Gardens approach is all about engaging farmers in reforestation and sustainable agroforestry. The farmers take part in a 4-year programme, learning the skills they need to better manage their land. This brings multiple benefits, including protected crops, stabilised soils, and habitats for pollinators, as well as increasing household incomes.

Over the past two years, the Ecologi community has funded the planting of 766,663 trees in Forest Gardens through this project. Three hundred farmers (57% of whom are women) are involved, with 3,522 people benefitting from the project so far. 

Pictured is 56-year-old Philister Khana, a farmer enrolled in the programme. In just two years she’s taken the number of trees on her plot from 4 to 2,001!