Responding together
We are responding to the climate crisis with a large-scale tree-planting campaign. Mennonite Men is locating land, forming a network of partners, assisting with tree planting, and facilitating contributions to fund projects.
We invite men's groups, youth groups, congregations, universities, nonprofits, and other groups to participate in this campaign.
We invite all genders and ages to join the campaign.
A Critical Problem
Nothing threatens our global village more than climate change. Deforestation is a major cause of this crisis as tree and forest loss continue, dramatically reducing the earth's most important means to sequester carbon and cool the planet. Global tree cover loss continues at an alarming rate of nearly 12 million acres each year.
The impacts of global warming are severe: extinction of animal and plant species, soil erosion, desertification, food loss, forest fires, droughts, and floods.
While poor and vulnerable populations already suffer, problems will worsen as environmental degradation and desertification dramatically decrease food production, access to clean water, and sustainable environments. According to the United Nations, "the health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever, affecting the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide." These distressed living conditions will cause mass migrations and other acts of desperation.
Essential Solutions
Planting and protecting trees are critical climate actions. The United Nations lists these as top natural solutions as trees are among the best and most cost-efficient means for sequestering climate-warming carbon dioxide. Trees not only sequester carbon but are critical for ecological restoration, biodiversity, and sustaining human life.
God's Call
The importance of trees in God's design for the earth is seen in the fact that they are featured in the very first and last chapters of the Bible.
The woodland garden of Eden represents what our Creator intended on Earth: beauty, biodiversity, and abundance where trees give life for all. And in the final vision of Revelation, we see trees of life for the healing of the nations.
God's call for us to serve and protect the Earth (Genesis 2:15) includes tending trees so they may play their important role in the community of creation.
Projects:
2023
2,000 trees in La Casa Grande Benin
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304 trees at Blooming Glen Mennonite Church |
1,000 trees at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church |
10,000 trees at Kalonda Mission |
10,000 trees in Kwilu Province |
15,600 trees in Mpukinsele Village |
16,700 trees in Muala Village |
18,000 trees in Sambo Communie |
15,600 trees in Tshilenge Territory |
16,200 trees in Quipindi Village |
15,600 trees in Mukedi Community 9,000 trees at Camp Friedenswald, MI 8,200 trees in various projects in Elkhart, IN
2024 550 trees at various projects of Mennonite Disaster Service
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