WeForest

Meet the people behind forest restoration 🌳 Restoration happens on the ground, led by the people who depend on the forest. From agroforestry to beekeeping, it's people like Miheret, Bitew and Ricky who are transforming landscapes and creating a positive impact for nature and climate. Here are their stories 📖 📷: Luke Katemba, Ruben Foquet, WeForest Ethiopia, The Hunger Project and WeForest Zambia.

This year’s theme on the #InternationalDayofRuralWomen - ‘Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All’ - shines a spotlight on the essential role that women play in the food systems that sustain families and communities across the world 🌎 From growing crops to preparing and distributing food, women are at the heart of it all. Yet, despite their vital contributions, many rural women face barriers to equal pay and food security. At WeForest, we recognise that women are instrumental in forest restoration and community resilience. Take Miheret from Kalamin, Ethiopia, for example. Since joining our livelihoods scheme in 2021, she’s been transforming her homestead into a thriving agroforestry system. With five apple seedlings and natural techniques like using ashes to manage termites, Miheret and her family are now eagerly awaiting their first apple harvest. The trees are not only providing food but also offer the promise of future income 🍏 Supporting rural women like Miheret ensures that communities have the resources they need to thrive while contributing to the protection and restoration of our planet’s forests 🌳 United Nations UN Women #ruralwomen #generationrestoration

Interested in a hands-on learning experience in Human Resources? Join our team as an HR Intern 💼 WeForest is seeking a passionate and detail-oriented Human Resources Intern to support our HQ team. Working closely with the HR Director and Officer, you’ll help manage employee onboarding, contracts, payroll, recruitment and more. If you’re pursuing a degree in HR, Business Administration or a related field, and have a passion for conservation, we’d love to hear from you. Share this opportunity with your network 🌿: https://lnkd.in/eC7_paxK #internship #humanresourcesjobs #greenjobs

This is what growing 100 million trees looks like. Yes, you read that right: we’re growing 100 million trees across the world 🌳 It’s taken nearly 14 years to do this; to build support, secure financial backing and make connections with local communities in the areas we work in. With the right funding, we can double our impact three times faster, growing another 100 million trees in just five years. See our comments to learn more about WeForest and our big plans ⏳ #restoration #reforestation #loveourplanet 🎞️ : Ruben Foquet, Nicolas Van Ingen and The Rusty Mokoro.

Today is #WorldHabitatDay - a United Nations day to reflect on how we can create a better future for all 🌳 While the focus this year is on urban environments, we’re turning the spotlight to forests – vital habitats that sustain life on Earth. Forests are home to 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, providing shelter, food and protection to countless species. They are the lifeblood of our planet, and at WeForest, we work tirelessly with our partners and supporters to restore these essential habitats. Take a moment to admire these snapshots, which showcase some of the most beautiful and important habitats on our planet 🌍 📸: Incredible photography from Ruben Foquet, IPÊ, Nicolas Van Ingen, ZEI, Sybryn Maes and Aklilu Negussie Mekuria. 

Food for thought ahead of the weekend... 🍌 Forests are more than just trees - they’re a source of livelihoods, food and medicine for around 1.6 billion people globally. The fuel, timber, wild honey, fruits, edible leaves and roots, medicinal plants, spices, gum and rattan they provide are not only derived from trees, but from the plants, fungi and animals which call the forest home. At WeForest, we work hand-in-hand with local communities on alternative income-generating activities, improving livelihoods while reducing pressure on these forest 'supermarkets'. These include agroforestry for food production and to improve soil quality, as well as honey production, which also means more bees to pollinate the forest. By equipping communities with the tools and knowledge to protect their home, we ensure that forests continue to thrive for generations to come 🌿 #forestrestoration #sustainableliving #natureheals 📷 : IPÊ

Women in forest conservation 🌿 Recently, WeForest, in collaboration with the Phalombe District Forestry Office, trained 40 community forest scouts from Likulezi and Chiphalombe forest blocks in Malawi. Among them were 10 inspiring women, who are now equipped with the skills to protect and conserve the vital ecosystems of Mount Mulanje. This initiative demonstrates that forest protection isn’t just about safeguarding nature – it’s also about supporting communities. When communities are involved in conservation, both people and nature can thrive together. These trainings, conducted by the Malawi College of Forestry and Wildlife, are an important step toward building a sustainable future for our planet 🌍 📷 Standing (from left): Fanny Mangitoni, Chifuniro Chisoni, Christina Welemu, Ellen Kandale. Kneeling (from left): Catherine Kasongo, Jacquilen Kholowa, Meria Damiyano, Mary Friday, Colleen Massa, Grace Mkwanda. #restoration #conservation #forests

New York Climate Week 🌍 We’re excited to see the world come together for #ClimateWeekNYC. This year's theme - #ItsTime - highlights the importance of accelerating innovation in energy storage, infrastructure and low-carbon production. We’re a few days in and so we have seen some brilliant discussions on these sustainability solutions, but it’s equally important to remember that nature-based solutions are already making an impact on the ground. Forest restoration provides immediate, tangible benefits for both the environment and local communities.  At WeForest, we’re working in areas like miombo woodlands of southern Africa - sometimes called “the largest forest you’ve never heard of” compared to more famous forest types such as rainforests - to restore landscapes and work with thousands of families to manage these essential ecosystems. These ‘forgotten’ miombo woodlands store significant amounts of carbon – more than previously thought – and play a critical role in biodiversity and climate resilience. Covering large parts of Africa, they support both wildlife and local people, yet they are under severe threat from agricultural expansion and illegal logging. By actively working on the ground to restore these forests, we’re not only tackling carbon sequestration but also ensuring that communities have access to sustainable livelihoods, such as sustainable farming and forestry practices. As the world focuses on future technologies, let’s not forget the power of nature in the fight against climate change. Nature is the most  scalable, flexible and affordable solution we currently have to create lasting change 🌿 To learn more, see the link in our comments of a recent study that shows just how crucial the miombo woodlands are 📑 📷: Ruben Foquet  #climateaction #miombowoodlands #naturebasedsolutions

Tropical deforestation undermines global forest gains 🌳 Global forests are absorbing more carbon than ever, but two-thirds of these gains are being negated by tropical deforestation. A recent study published in Nature Magazine, led by the USDA Forest Service, shows that while global forests are sequestering more carbon overall, tropical deforestation is offsetting much of this progress. Although temperate and tropical regrowth forests are making positive strides, disturbances in boreal and tropical intact forests are reducing their carbon absorption capacity. This research highlights the urgent need to halt deforestation and degradation to protect our planet’s carbon sinks. At WeForest, we’re working alongside local communities to restore and protect vital dry tropical forests, from the Atlantic Forest in Brazil to the Miombo woodlands of Zambia and Malawi. By working with the people who live in and depend on these forests, we’re ensuring they lead the fight against climate change. The link to the full study can be found in our comments ⬇ Image 📷: Ruben Foquet #carbonsequestration #tropicalforests #onlyoneearth

A satellite perspective 🌍 You know we love sharing before and after photos of our restoration work, but today we’ve got something a little different! Check out these satellite images from Pontal, Brazil, where we're working with IPÊ - Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas to reconnect forest fragments in the Atlantic Forest. In the first image from 2021 you can see just a few isolated trees. Fast forward to 2024, and the site is now thriving with saplings and shrubs, creating green corridors for endangered species. Our combined methods of natural regeneration and enrichment planting are helping the forest, wildlife and local communities flourish 💚 📷: explorer.land by OpenForests #restoration #reforestation #climatechange