Nature and art are inherently linked, with the natural world serving as inspiration and muse for artists throughout history and art as a powerful catalyst for change. We are tapping into this symbiotic relationship to create a holistic approach to conservation that considers the people, history, and wisdom of the land as critical elements in its restoration. Just like landscapes are threatened and wilderness is on the brink of extinction, as are traditional wisdom and cultural heritage; it is critical we work to save both to preserve our connections to nature and nature’s impact on us. Our conservation partners have shared with us that this is critical to their work as well in order to provide a connection to local community and engaging broader audiences in their work.

The majority of your donations will be used to plant trees in the Carpathian Mountains, in Romania and in the UK (Devon and Sussex). We also invest in environmental education of the younger generation and development of artistic projects linked to preservation of endangered landscapes.

As Forests Without Frontiers grows we aim to expand to work in other countries – always partnering with respected and established organisations working on the ground.

Our basic tree cost is £5. This covers the cost of the saplings, planting and care for the trees as well as operational costs and business development. As a non-profit, all extra monies go to planting more trees and reinvestment in the organisation’s activities.

There are two seasons for planting trees in the Carpathian mountains – Spring (usually April/May) and Autumn (October/November). And three seasons in the UK - Winter, Spring and Autumn.

We support two projects in Romania – one rewilding oak pastures and the other planting vast mixed forests with species including spruce, beech, fir, sycamore and rowan on degraded land.

We also support two projects in the UK, which focus on extending the existing hedgrows in Devon and the wetwoodland habitat in Sussex. In the UK we plant a mixture of species like rowan, beech, field maple, hawthorn, hazle, oak, crabapple, dog rose, silver birch, willow. It is very important to have a mix of native species to support the eco-systems and wildlife – many tree planting schemes are monocultures.

We have access to thousands of hectares of land and the potential is huge. We are working with experts in their fields to ensure that our work is of the highest conservation standards.

We will update our website, social media channels and send out newsletters with progress reports on the trees being planted and maintained. Please sign up to our newsletter for these updates. We also publish annual reports and FCC provides regular reports.

In Romania, where our first projects are, we are working with our partner Foundation Conservation Carpathia (carpathia.org). The forests are on land owned by FCC, and we have a legal contract with them that guarantees that no commercial logging or hunting will ever be permitted, unless forced by the law. FCC are working to create the largest forested national park in Europe, which will include our FWF plantations, the first of which is already protected by European law, being part of a Natura 2000 zone. FCC have in place regular local ranger patrols, to prevent illegal logging and hunting.

In the UK the land is protected through legal contracts with Farm Under the Radar in the UK, and the Biodynamic land trust in Sussex.

The management plan for the land will be consistent with the highest level of protection available in Romania (similar to a T1 management plan, with no commercial interventions allowed). FCC have a rewilding agenda, and so any interventions will be kept to a very minimum (such as cutting some spruce in a very early phase to avoid them taking over in areas where spruce is not natural, and only within the first 10-20 years). In the UK we are developing the management and monitoring plans in collaboration with our partners.

No, the trees will only be planted if we raise the funds for them. Our partners have the land and we raise money to help plant and maintain the trees. We also pay local planters to do this work.

We worked mainly voluntarily setting up FWF in the first year. Going forward to keep the project going and guarantee professionalism and efficiency, we pay a skeleton staff. Operational costs will be kept to a minimum. Our goal is to plant as many trees as possible, also supporting the local communities, we invest in environmental education of the younger generation and development of artistic projects linked to preservation of endangered landscapes.

Calculations regarding carbon sequestration and offset are hard to measure, and can be controversial, as it differs from species to species, and place to place (taking into account factors such as soil, temperature, altitude, wind and climate change). Our trees are protected from logging via contract with the owners and regular checks, so will continue to sequester C02 throughout their lifetimes.

Our carbon calculations estimates are to plant 6 trees to offset 1 tonne of CO2, based on Trees for Life recommendations. So 1 Tree = 0.16 tonnes CO2.

Tree prices are based on our European operational costs, from planting to long-term maintenance. But the calculations are just a suggestion for how many trees to plant – it’s always better to plant more!

We believe everyone should look at their carbon footprint and reduce it as much as possible and fly as little as possible. However, if people do choose to fly, for work or leisure, we do not believe ‘carbon offsetting’ should be used to alleviate guilt, but that planting trees should be the norm. We need to remove carbon already in the atmosphere, not just mitigate additional emissions. We all have a carbon footprint simply living our daily lives. FWF does not endorse offsetting through tree planting as a means to continue business as usual. We encourage you to focus on avoiding a carbon footprint as much as possible — reducing emissions alongside offsetting is crucial.

We intend to continue supporting carefully-chosen nature restoration projects, working in partnerships that give back to the planet in the most effective way. We will continue to include creative elements in all our work, supporting artists, engaging communities and helping preserve traditional wisdom.

Ultimately our dream is to buy land for conservation work – where we would have a retreat centre for education, artistic events and nature connection work.