Our global

programme

For over 100 years, ITF has worked in partnership with countless organisations in over 90 countries, inspiring the creation of community groups dedicated to tree planting worldwide.

Beyond our core focus of East Africa and the UK, our wider international work continues to this day. From Asia to South America we are forging new connections and working with local NGOs to deliver community-led nature restoration.

Each one of these partnerships creates a platform for learning and exchange of experience on the challenges of tree planting across diverse habitats and cultures. Our international partners share our values and our approach to tree planting, with community and livelihoods at the heart of every project we support.

Our approach

  • We are community-led

    We work with community groups to support their vision for their local area. Together we create practical, locally-driven projects which restore nature and create green havens for everyone.

  • Multiple impact approach

    From education to better farming and inclusion, our mission goes beyond planting trees. Our holistic approach is about creating a multitude of benefits for people and for planet.

  • Participatory monitoring

    Multi-year monitoring is essential across our projects. By involving communities, using technology and adjusting based on the data, we ensures an impressive 85% or higher tree survival rate.

Brazil

The Atlantic Forest once stretched from northern Brazil to Uruguay, teeming with biodiversity and abundance. But since the 20th century, deforestation has razed it to less than 10% of its original size. Now, communities are coming together to restore this vital ecosystem.

One such effort is in Parque dos Búfalos, a green oasis in São Paulo’s urban landscape.

Since 2023, ITF has partnered with Peregum, a Brazilian charity advocating for Black political representation and tackling racism in education. Peregum also champions environmental education and inclusivity in the sector.

Peregum has brought together communities surrounding Parque dos Búfalos, training and equipping volunteers to plant native tree species in the park. ITF has supported the planting of 500 of these trees, which will be monitored and nurtured by the community in the years to come.

Indonesia

In 2024, ITF joined forces with Trees4Trees to support a transformative project in rural Indonesia – one that is reshaping both the landscape and livelihoods.

Traditionally farmers in West Java grow cassava, a staple crop. But they are struggled with declining soil health and limited income. So Trees4Trees have been supporting a sustainable solution, agroforestry – the process of planting trees and shrubs with crops, revitalising the soil and boosting yields. Through training and hands-on support, farmers are learning to plant trees that are help restore their land and grow valuable crops like avocado, durian, and clove.

With ITF’s backing, 600 trees were planted in an Eco-Village in the Setu District, a vital buffer zone near Bogor, Jakarta. Here, the trees took root, enriching biodiversity, improving soil and water retention. The Eco-Village has created jobs for residents and equipped them in tree care and monitoring, ensuring the trees and crops thrive.

What began as a tree-planting initiative is now a model for resilience – where environmental restoration and economic empowerment grow hand in hand.

ITF’s connection to Canada runs deep – our founder, Richard St. Barbe Baker, first studied forestry at the University of Saskatchewan, laying the groundwork for a lifetime dedicated to conservation. More than a century later, that legacy continues to grow.

In 2024, ITF partnered with the Garden City Conservation Society and the City of Richmond to plant a Miyawaki Mini Forest in British Columbia. This unique method, known for its densely planted native trees, is helping transform a once-degraded farmland into a thriving green space.

The site of the forest is Garden City Lands, a degraded area of old farmland which is been turned in a thriving space for agriculture, ecology and community wellness. Sphagnum moss is restoring the peatland while tree planting is boosting biodiversity and wildlife is beginning to return.

With 750 native trees and perennials now taking root in mini forest, the impact of this project is just beginning. In 2025, the Garden City Conservation Society will conduct insect surveys to monitor the forest’s health and its growing role in supporting local wildlife.

This work in Canada continues to bring about the vision of our founder – ensuring forests, big and small, remain part of the landscape for generations to come.

Canada

Columbia

As farming practices across the world adapt to increasingly extreme weather patterns and a shifting climate, managing the landscape while keeping livestock healthy is a new challenge for rural communities of Columbia.

But Fundación Humedales Bogotá are helping dairy farmers adapt in the hills of Cundinamarca – supporting them to transition to silvopasture, a farming practice that combines trees, forage and livestock on the same land to boost sustainability. The organisation is helping farmers to plant trees in their grazing fields and training them in land preparation, tree species selection and tree monitoring and maintenance. 

We worked with Fundación Humedales Bogotá and volunteers from the city to plant 600 trees on dairy farms in Vereda Márquez, Cundinamarca. The new trees will provide shade, improve the soils and help to mitigate periods of drought.

This transition to silvopasture is helping to retain healthier grasses each year for farmers’ livestock. And by protecting landscapes, the project is securing sustainable incomes for the next generation in the dairy farming community.

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Plant trees and restore forests today

Can you imagine a world without trees? Neither can we. Your support today can plant trees, bring forests back to life and help nature recover for people and planet.

This work was made possible thanks to our partnership with the UPS Foundation.