International Tree Foundation

05/09/2026

When Rose received seed funding through the new Village Savings and Loans Association in Ganzo village, Uganda, she bought a cow.

“I milk six litres a day, sell four litres and keep two litres for my children. The income from milk sales helps me to save money and pay school fees.”

And that’s not all it can do. The manure has improved coffee production on her farm, then when her cow has a calf, she plans to give it to another member of the savings group so the cycle can begin again.

Her neighbour, Annet, used her own VSLA loan to buy a pig. Nine piglets later, she’s thinking the same thought: maybe now the school fees will be manageable, maybe the future can look different.

“I hope that through it my children will be able to study and succeed.”

This is what a restoration project that looks beyond the trees can achieve. Community-led tree planting, combined with the economic structures that empower those communities to share in the benefits. Forests and livelihoods, rebuilt in the same place at the same time.


Read the full story: 🔗 www.internationaltreefoundation.org/news/it-starts-with-nine-piglets

04/09/2026

Lazaro planted over 200 fruit trees thanks to ITF.

“I grow different types of fruits and vegetables,” he told us. “I also have lemongrass that is used for herbal tea.

“This system is called mixed farming. There are many benefits to planting fruit trees with other crops. I have benefited from fruits and shade. Every year, the trees produce more fruits.”

Lazaro tells us it’s cooler when he walks among the trees and crops than the walls beyond his homestead.

“This system the reason why my environment is changing positively. Not just on income but also improved nutrition.”

03/09/2026

Meet four projects in Sussex that are facing very different challenges, but all share one goal.

This year, with the support of the Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust, we’ve been backing community-led restoration at…

🌳 Chailey School: 170 students planted native trees, learnt about biodiversity and will be working in the school grounds to care for them as they grow.

🌿 Lovebrook: families and young children joined volunteers for a planting day together.

🌱 Littlehampton: volunteers are protecting new species-rich hedgerows that are valuable for insects, birds and small mammals.

🌴 Telscombe Tye: a planting plan was created to focus on trees that could survival more challenging coastal conditions.

Community-led restoration at its best involves local people throughout, understands that each site needs species chosen for its unique conditions and designs projects that care for the long term.

When 170 students walked out of classrooms at Chailey School this year, they were heading to plant trees that they’ll watch grow for the rest of their time there.  

02/09/2026

Our work in Uganda grows more than trees: it also builds opportunities, resilience and a fairer stake in the land for everyone who depends on it. Last year alone, we exceeded our planting targets, restoring 44 hectares of degraded land while helping marginalised communities and youth-led conservation projects to build village savings groups, small businesses and new sources of income.

01/09/2026

When it is hot, one of the best places to be is under a tree. You don’t need a scientific study to tell you that, writes our CEO, James Whitehead.

But research shows just how important that cooling is and why access to trees will matter increasingly as temperatures rise.

The effect is strongest in towns and cities. Concrete, brick and tarmac absorb heat during the day and release it slowly, making built-up areas considerably hotter than their surroundings. Trees help by keeping the sun off roads and buildings. They also release water through their leaves, cooling the air around them. Research in London estimated that the city’s existing urban forest helped prevent 153 heat-related deaths between 2015 and 2022.

The role of trees in absorbing carbon is well known. In tropical regions, they also move vast amounts of water from the soil into the atmosphere, cooling the land and shaping weather conditions far beyond the forest itself. The picture is more mixed in snow-covered northern regions, where dark forest canopy can absorb more heat than open snow.

This summer, severe heat, drought and wildfires across Europe have brought another question: can having more trees increase the danger of fire?

There’s no single answer. Wildfire risk depends on weather, ignition sources, vegetation condition, forest structure, and landscape management. Dense, uniform plantations can be more vulnerable to severe fire than diverse forests and landscapes. That is why European guidance increasingly emphasises mixed species, varied structures, and active, locally appropriate management.

The answer, then, isn't simply to plant more trees. It is to protect existing forests and restore damaged landscapes well. For ITF, that means working with communities, using species suited to local conditions, building in diversity and caring for trees long after planting.

Trees give us shade on a hot day. At a larger scale, protecting and restoring forests and bringing more trees into farms and cities, can help keep landscapes liveable as temperatures rise. It is a benefit we can no longer take for granted.

30/08/2026

Across ITF's projects, forest scouts like Elijah Nyakundi spend their days protecting newly planted sites from fire and illegal grazing, and replacing any trees that don't survive.

This is the part of restoration that doesn't show up in a planting day photo, but it's also the part that determines whether a forest is still there in ten years.

When you support tree planting that's done properly, you're not just funding trees, you're funding the people whose ongoing work makes those trees survive.

28/08/2026

ITF's Joshua Mutambuki visited our partners, Women in Water and Natural Resources Conservation (WWANC) and the Kenya Forest Service to monitor tree planting in the Shamiloli and Kibiri restoration sites within the Kakamega Tropical Rainforest.

Together, we are restoring more than 350 hectares of degraded forest while helping local communities improve their livelihoods through agroforestry, fruit tree planting and energy efficient cookstoves.

The once degraded landscape is steadily becoming a thriving forest. Young trees are growing well, especially along the riverbanks, where they are helping to restore the vegetation that protects streams flowing into the Yala River.

This is thanks to the dedication of community scouts. They remove weeds around young trees, protect the site from grazing livestock and care for seedlings used for gapping (replacing missing, dead or ungerminated seedlings). They are also supporting the community nursery, which continues to produce healthy native seedlings for future planting.

‎‎”One of the most inspiring moments was listening to community members share their experiences and the tangible benefits from the project,” Joshua said. They reported using income generated from tree nurseries and restoration activities to pay school fees for their children, invest in livestock, improve their homes, purchase food and meet other household needs.”

Step by step, this work is creating a healthier home for wildlife, protecting vital water sources and supporting surrounding communities.

26/08/2026

It starts with a pig, or a beehive, or a group of neighbours saving together.

Swipe to see what some things that started small on the slopes of Mount Elgon, are now growing into 🌱

24/08/2026

Fireflies aren’t just pretty, they play an important role in ecosystem health and habitat for many species.

How does this help people and planet you ask? By replanting mangroves for fireflies, you’re restoring fisheries nurseries, protecting coastlines and helping create long lasting livelihoods. Globally, Malaysia's fireflies are one type of data point in a worldwide pattern helping identify and sometimes help reverse the adverse health of freshwater and coastal ecosystems.

ITF recently partnered with and Malaysia to help restore mangroves along the coastline in Kampung Kuantan Fireflies Park. Partnering with local organisations and restoring ecosystems where they are needed most are core ITF values and we are proud to have worked many local partners to be a part of this project that has far reaching effects.

23/08/2026

Jackson Lechabara and his brothers had argued about the boundaries of their farms for years. No-one could agree exactly where Jackson’s farm ended, making their work across the land more difficult.

Today, you can see the answer from a distance.

A line of trees grows along the boundary of this farm in Marsabit County, northern Kenya, planted by Jackson with support from our AFR100 project. Nobody can dispute the border anymore, because the trees have drawn it.

Over the last five years, this project has been working with communities across Marsabit, planting trees that bring shade, animal fodder, natural windbreaks and new sources of income to one of Kenya’s most challenging landscapes.

Sometimes they’re ending family disputes too.

🔗 Read the full story via the link in our bio

With thanks to and



https://www.internationaltreefoundation.org/news/the-trees-that-made-peace-between-brothers?utm_name=sked&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=sked_6a86d7bf5b7ef1406daaf650