Throughout Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 we celebrated the ways that nature can help us to feel good. This week at The Joy Club we wanted to take some time to understand how our partnership with MoreTrees helps us to return that favour and help nature to feel good too. At The Joy Club we are so proud to work with MoreTrees, who plant a tree every time one of our members recommends us to a friend. This initiative doesn’t cost members anything – it allows them to give and earn free months of membership and we will be growing The Joy Club forest in the process to help combat climate change.
Most of us understand that planting trees and protecting the environment is important – but, if we’re honest, we’re guilty of not knowing exactly why that can help reduce global warming nor what practical steps we can take to help. That’s why we’ve invited the team at MoreTrees to tell us more about the ins and outs of protecting the environment: why we should care about it, how we can do it and what the goals are for the future of our planet.
Who are MoreTrees?
At MoreTrees we are on a mission to make it easy and affordable for everyone to become carbon positive.
Before we delve into ‘carbon positive’, what is carbon and what does it have to do with our planet?
- ‘Carbon’ is the shortened term for ‘carbon dioxide’: a gas that occurs naturally through volcanic eruptions, wildfires, and human respiration. It’s also generated by human-made activities such as burning fossil fuels for power and transportation.
- Carbon dioxide is also known as a greenhouse gas. This means it works with other gases in the Earth’s atmosphere to create the greenhouse effect.
- The greenhouse effect is where greenhouse gases, such as CO2, absorb the sun’s solar energy and traps heat within the Earth’s atmosphere, creating a climate habitable for humans and other species.
If we need carbon dioxide to live, why is everyone talking about reducing it?
The problem is that carbon dioxide is tipping the greenhouse effect out of balance. Essentially, there are too many greenhouse gases absorbing the sun’s energy, which means our planet is slowly warming up.
We know this as climate change. And there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight. Between 2000 and 2020, the Earth’s emissions more than quadrupled from the previous decade.
These rising average temperatures could cause:
- Ice caps to melt and oceans to warm, causing sea levels to rise;
- Extreme weather events such as heatwaves, heavy downpours and wildfires;
- Changes to where different wildlife populations can live and survive.
Translating the ‘eco-talk’: what does ‘carbon positive’ mean?
You will often hear terms like ‘carbon neutral’ or ‘offset carbon emissions’. These both refer to taking action in favour of the environment. The idea is to reduce carbon dioxide and counteract the carbon produced by human activity.
It is our ultimate goal to become ‘carbon positive’ as a planet: this means going beyond offsetting carbon emissions and actually goes one step further to remove extra carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to benefit the natural environment we all depend on.
Trees are beautiful but how are they going to help us protect the planet?
Trees offset carbon through the process of photosynthesis – absorbing carbon dioxide from the air and releasing oxygen in its place. A mature tree absorbs approximately 22 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year!
We are passionate about tree planting because we know that it helps offset your carbon footprint, combat climate change and give back to a planet that gives us so much.
MoreTrees x The Joy Club
For every friend referral members of The Joy Club have made, we’ve planted a tree.
Together, we have already planted a tree for every friend referral that members have made since The Joy Club launched, meaning that we’ve already offset more than 5.70 tonnes of carbon!
This is only the beginning and it is free for members to recommend a friend and for a tree to be planted as a result. Let’s get planting!
If I refer a friend, where are my trees going?
We partner with tree planting projects across the world, to bring members a variety of locations to support, with various co-benefits such as poverty alleviation, biodiversity and community support.
We work hard to change these throughout the year and welcome feedback on the projects you’d like to see us supporting.
Our current projects include:
- Madagascar. Partnering with local and tribal communities to reforest one of the world’s top biodiversity conservation priorities.
- Kenya. Working with partners to plant forests that channel water, support communities and home wildlife.
- Haiti. Helping local farmers plant trees that protect watersheds and improve food security and supply.
Members – to find out more about how you can support this brilliant initiative, visit our ‘Invite a friend’ page.
Not yet a The Joy Club member? Join us today!