European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) Members have successfully reached their goal of planting two million trees in two years.
Following the launch of the 2 Million Tree Project at the OutDoor trade show in Germany in 2016, to celebrate having raised and funded €2 Million of conservation projects since its inception in 2006, EOCA announced that in under two years, the target has not only been reached but surpassed with the planting of 2,081,276 trees. Projects have included rewilding in Scotland, Spain and Romania, forest restoration in Kenya, Malawi, Borneo, Uganda and India, replanting mangroves in Madagascar and Indonesia.
Added to the tree planting projects that have been carried out since the Association started in 2006, an impressive 2,668,722 trees are now standing that would not otherwise exist. Considering one mature tree produces enough oxygen for four people and a 40 year old tree can sequester one ton of carbon dioxide per year, EOCA members and the European outdoor industry have left a huge, lasting legacy.
EOCA is also celebrating having now funded more than 100 conservation projects around the world since it started in 2006. Those 105 projects spread across 53 different countries around the world from Siberia to Sumatra and Chile to the Czech Republic. The projects involve issues such as wilderness protection, removal of invasive species, reducing poaching, improving habitats, marine litter, alternative livelihoods and climate change – all benefitting wildlife, local communities and outdoor enthusiasts – and EOCA has now put more than €2.4 million into its projects thanks to the support of its members around the industry.
“The achievements we are celebrating have only come about through the steadfast and continued support of our members,” said Tanya Bascombe, EOCA Joint General Manager. “The amount that has been realised through the Association is testament to what an industry can do by working together when the issues faced are so much greater than each individual.”
