An update from Pebble Woods

5 min readJun 13, 2022

The trees we plant have big ambitions

Bringing benefits not only to the environment but also to the people who live in it. Treedom works with NGOs and local communities to select the right tree for the right place and the right purpose.

We chose Treedom because they plant trees using a methodology that follows the three fundamental principles recommended by the Global Landscapes Forum:

Transferring skills to communities and ensuring a long life for our trees
Planting the right trees in the right place for the right purpose
Monitoring, accompanying, and supporting the care of trees in the first few years of their life.

Our seedlings are getting ready to be planted around the world

This type of tree management gives them a long life span, maximizing their ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere and store it. It also encourages the development of micro-organisms, improves water retention, reduces erosion and soil runoff, and in the long run, allows nature to regenerate.

Treedom plants trees that build sustainable agroforestry systems — cultivating a heterogeneous combination of trees, shrubs, and seasonal crops, sometimes alongside livestock farming. It is a practical and low-cost means of implementing many forms of sustainable natural resource management, promoting long-term, sustainable, and renewable forest management, especially for small-scale producers. Find out more

Trees are maintained by local farmers to ensure a long healthy life

Treedom has a dual purpose: To protect the environment and support the communities in which trees are planted

The projects are run in partnership with organizations that have a social purpose, such as associations, NGOs, or farmer cooperatives, which are often based locally or have been operating in the area for a long time and have formed a true understanding of the needs of the communities.

Direct contact with local farmers
Choice of which trees to plant made with farmers
Training, income opportunities & empowerment

Environmental benefits

Each project has its own distinct characteristics and therefore specific areas in which tree planting can have positive effects, but the most common of these are: combatting soil erosion, enriching biodiversity, protecting soil fertility, creating sustainable ecosystems, and so on.

Over the course of its life, each tree absorbs CO₂ (carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere and stores it in its wooden parts. This process removes CO₂ from the atmosphere, and its effects are greater the longer the trees are able to grow and live.

How Treedom calculates CO₂ absorption

*The tree will continue to absorb CO2 even after the tenth year. Therefore this is a prudent estimate.

The model uses various data inputs, such as the size/composition/lifecycle of a tree, to calculate a sound estimate of how much carbon is absorbed over the first 10 years of its life. The data for these calculations comes from GlobAllomeTree, which is a database used specifically to calculate the carbon stock of trees.

These calculations are based on averages — since we cannot measure and weigh every tree every year, and some will be larger and others smaller- so in all our projects, Treedom plants an additional 5–10% trees beyond those promised, to ensure that our calculations are conservative rather than optimistic.

*t=tonne , t=1000Kg

A collaborative Treedom farm creates a diverse ecosystem

Social benefits

Equally important is that our work is able to deliver social benefits to the local communities that participate in our projects and bring them to life. Funding, community building, training, and technical assistance are the key steps in launching each new project. Above all, it’s crucial that communities derive direct benefits from trees in terms of food resources and economic opportunities.

Local communities benefit from the entire process of planting trees with the Treedom model

Pebble Woods Map and Trees

The Cacao tree is an evergreen that produces small, five-petal flowers that are white, green, or rose-hued and sprout directly on the trunk or principal branches. The lucky flowers develop into the celebrated cocoa pods. It is planted for high-quality cocoa bean production and to provide local farmers with an additional source of income.

The Caoba tree reaches up to 30 meters in height and commands an impressive presence. Its leaves are a beautiful intense green, and the fruit that it produces is a bizarre, woody, brick-colored pine cone that contains winged seeds. It’s planted to generate forests and is highly regarded as a medicinal plant: the bark is used to create a liquid to cure tuberculosis.

The Avocado tree is known for its fruit, which contains a rich source of energy and nutrients. The extracted oil is used in the cosmetics field for its antioxidant and revitalizing properties. Avocado leaves have excellent anti-scarring properties as well. Avocado is planted for fruit cultivation and the shade that it provides for other crops.

The Lemon tree was probably an ancient hybrid between the grapefruit and citron according to genetic studies. This citrus tree produces beautiful white and violet petals, and highly perfumed fruit. The local population benefits from its precious edible fruit and healing properties.

The White Mangrove tree is a small and medium-sized evergreen shrub with a rounded crown of scattered branches; it usually grows from 3 to 10 meters in height, but occasionally reaches 15 meters. It grows along the coastlines, resisting very high saline conditions, protecting the soil from erosion, and forming proper habitats for many animal species.