Photo credit: Tree-Nation Tree-Nation is an organization aiming to plant 8 million trees in Niger, Africa in the shape of a huge heart to combat deforestation and global warming. Folks who want to get involved can visit Tree-Nation's website and buy trees for themselves or gift them to others for milestones such as weddings, new babies, or even to advertise a business.

Purchasers of a tree are asked to plant it on a virtual map, and then a real tree will be planted in the same spot at the park in Niger. There are different types of trees to choose from, all local ones that have the attributes (like robust root systems) to survive in the desert, like the Acacia, Baobab, and various palm trees.

Once a tree is purchased, it gets its own “Tree-Blog” and profile. Visitors to the site and tree purchasers can socialize with each other by sharing photos, messages, links, etc. Andy Pothecary and Maxime Renaudin are the co-founders of Tree-Nation and are based in Barcleona, Spain. They work with a small team of community members in Niger, and hope that they community there will become a center for projects working towards a sustainable, healthy future. Pothecary told Green Options:

“Our members will share a common interest by planting a tree, an action in the real world, bridging cultural and geographical boundaries.”

Since the project launched late last year, nearly 700 trees have been planted, so Tree-Nation has quite a ways to go. But even if you don't want to buy a tree, the site is worth checking out just for the fantastic mapping technology.

Tree-Nation is affiliated with the United Nations Environment Programme's Billion Tree campaign, whose mission is to plant a billion trees worldwide by the end of 2007 to fight deforestation and raise awareness of global warming.

Tree-Nation