The 2022 Philippines Impact Report
How companies create long-lasting impact with our reforestation project
Click A Tree was not created to offset CO2, but to support life by restoring natural habitats for plants and animals while providing economic opportunity for all involved.
You can read what exactly that means in our latest report from our project in the Philippines here.
Everything you need to know about our project in the Philippines: the who, how, what
Where exactly are we planting? Which tree species are planted to promote biodiversity? Who exactly is planting and which side project are we supporting? Here are the hard facts.
The Country
The Philippines is a Southeast Asian country in the western Pacific and comprises more than 7,000 islands. UN Human Development Index rank 116 (Germany: rank 9, UK: rank 18, USA: rank 21; UN Report 2021/2022).
The Planting Location
San Isidro, Davao Oriental, Mindanao; Coordinates: 6°53’17.0″ N, 126°09’52.1″ E.
And zoomed out
The Mission
Our mission is to create long-term, full-time jobs and sustainable food security for local farmers; simultaneously removing plastic waste from the sea.
Planting Method
Our tree planting in the Philippines aims to create a natural forest that has the best chance of survival. To do this, we plant trees that are suitable for the humid, green and coastal areas – mangrove trees.
You can read why we chose mangroves here: Mangrove forests – 7 vital functions + 4 unique facts.
Workers in our Reforestation Project
Same as in our other project countries, we work with full-time workers, both for planting and tending the trees. Just like for collecting the plastic waste.
Planting time
Theoretically, all year long, however, there is a break in the summer months as it gets too hot work outside during the day.
Tree species in our reforestation project
13 mangrove species were planted in Q3 2022.
Special Feature of the Project
In addition to the creation of full-time jobs, 1kg (around 2.2 pounds) of plastic is removed from the ocean in the Philippines for every tree planted.
We have put together more in-depth details on our reforestation project in the Philippines here: Planting trees in the Philippines – Why we are planting trees for the seas.
Previous Project Successes of Click A Tree
Click A Tree has been planting trees in the Philippines since 2019. The project has been open for partner support since mid-2020. Thanks to the great support of numerous partners, the following has already been achieved:
Important: “Newly created work hours” only take into account all additional working hours created in this quarter. Even with small numbers (e.g. 0 in Q3 2020), all existing jobs were retained. At such times, for example, the tree nursery is expanded, the field is prepared, planned, etc.
A very, very big thank you goes to all our cooperation partners who support us so diligently in our mission to reforest the planet and create self-sufficient ecosystems.
Without you all this would not be possible. Therefore: Thank you so much! We look forward to continuing to work with you in the years and decades to come to make our planet a better place for all who live on it.
Would you like to help us increase these numbers and also make a big difference for the local people? Then create a Universal Impact account and let’s get started.
Philippines Update Q2 2022
In the Fight Against Plastic
Since the summer of 2021, we have been removing 1 kg of plastic waste from the sea for every mangrove tree planted. A unique project so far, which enables all our supporters to achieve the maximum possible positive impact for our planet.
Since state pensions are very low here, if any payments are made at all, we mainly work with older people in our plastic project. This work is less physically demanding than planting trees and thus helps them to secure a (further) income.
The plastic is collected on the beach, in shallow water and between the mangroves and then stowed in big sacks before being driven to the next station. Since the project won a lot of fans and we’re collecting several hundred kilograms of plastic every month, we even had to buy 100 more bags last month.
We have already removed 15,378 kg of plastic from the sea. That’s 15 tons less of the garbage that marine life off the Philippine coast has to suffer from. A strong start that would not have been possible without so many hard-working supporters – thank you for that at this point.
In order for the plastic not to end up back in the ocean again, we are currently working on an exciting option to reuse it. More on that later.
The Big Planting in June
On June 24th, our colleagues in the Philippines made their way from the tree nursery to the beach to plant 3000 mangrove seedlings.
Anie Rose Planco (top picture) and Mercedita Guiabo (picture below) ensure order in the tree nursery as they are responsible for organizing the tree nurseries.
With eagle eyes they check the right mangrove species in the right quantities are brought to the beach to grow a beautiful mangrove forest.
They are then transported to the beach in San Isidro in wooden wheelbarrows.
Our team then plants the seedlings in (almost) straight lines into the sand.
In a short amount of time and with little bureaucracy, you can make a real difference on the planet. With your own Universal Impact Account you can track and share your Impact.
The Weather
Due to the geographic location, the weather in the south of the Philippines is relatively stable. There is neither winter nor summer, but times with either more or fewer storms and the resulting tidal waves.
It is currently very hot during the day, often rainy in the late afternoon and temperatures of 22 degrees Celsius are reached at night.
There were several storms and an earthquake (5.2 on the scale, Epi Center in Governor Generoso), but thankfully everyone, including the nurseries and mangroves survived, unscathed.
New Projects in the Pipeline
Thanks to the extremely positive development of the reforestation project in the Philippines, we are simultaneously developing other projects to ensure smooth further development.
All new projects are initially created independently by Click A Tree – our partners are allowed to get involved as soon as the projects have been developed to our satisfaction.
School Chairs from Plastic Waste
For every mangrove planted, 1 kg of plastic is removed from the ocean. Since we didn’t want the collected plastic simply be unloaded on the landfill, we have come up with an exciting recycling method:
Creating school chairs.
This is what the first chairs made of plastic waste look like. This gives thousands of children a stable chair at school – even with a built-in desk pad.
A total of 30 kg (around 66 pounds) of plastic is needed to produce a chair. Of course, the chair doesn’t weigh 30 kg – but that’s how much plastic has to be collected.
Unfortunately, not all plastic can be recycled yet, so we are constantly working on other methods.
Next Steps
Since we are still in the beginning stages of this project, we will continue to refine the process over the next few months until we can fully integrate it into our project. The next task will be to see how the costs of chair production can be covered.
If anyone has an idea on how we can cover the costs involved, please email us at [email protected] with ideas and/or possible contacts.
Of course, this can be brilliantly marketed as a CSR measure for companies – and makes a very valuable contribution to improving access to education in the Philippines.
You want to do something good, preferably with the greatest possible impact, but don’t know what or how?
No matter whether you want to plant trees for a product sold, as an employee gift or customer gift: if you plant trees with us, you will create a huge impact.
Because trees are not just trees.
On our new Impact Platform you can also track your impact and share it with others.
There you can see how many working hours you have created, how much area you have reforested and depending on which project you choose, you can also see the impact you made by removing plastic from the ocean or supporting an entrepreneur school.
A few clicks make a big difference for the planet and for many people.
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