Project Pando: A Tree Farm to Help Heal the Planet
Our volunteer-driven tree farm in Raleigh, NC that sustainably grows a variety of native trees available to the public for free.
We know that trees are essential to the health of our planet. Yet each minute humans cut down nearly 30 soccer fields of trees. We need to curb the tide of tree loss and plant billions of new trees across our planet.
Enter Project Pando.
Project Pando is a volunteer-driven tree farm here in Raleigh that sustainably grows a variety of native trees available to the public for free.
Our hope is to use this farm to create an open-source blueprint whereby the concept can be replicated by anybody most anywhere for minimal costs (zero cost is the goal) using only volunteer labor. Once the blueprint is done, we will give it to the world for free. Our goal is to fully democratize access to an endless supply of trees and the knowledge necessary to help those trees reach establishment.
We also hope to build an organizational network modeled after living systems that enables Project Pando to spread rapidly. To us, that means it is adaptive, responsive, emergent, self-organizing, and co-creative.
Our ultimate hope is to use this project to help overcome some of our most planet's most pressing health issues.
Join Project Pando! We can't do this without you.
If you want to join, we welcome you! We operate using this framework (in no particular order):
- Pick Your Passion: It is important that you have fun so pick the part of this project for which you feel the most excitement and passion.
- Sustain & Regenerate: Sustainability is essential. Can we do a given action billion times without degrading our planet? We need billions of new trees globally.
- Connect with Local Ecology: Work with native fauna and flora. Support local economies and public institutions.
- Reduce Waste: Always default to reuse and recycle vs buying anything new. Buying new should be a last resort. We must limit our waste creation across billions of trees.
- Reduce Costs: Minimize costs so this is replicable for any community. We must be careful not to create systemic biases related to income and resources.
- Question Everything: There is always a solution. Find it. Brainstorm, experiment, fail, and fail again – this is all part of finding success.
- Scalability: For this movement to grow across the planet, it must be replicable in every way. This means we need to create processes that are not specific to our resources, etc. It also means we cannot create bottlenecks (for example, teams need autonomy to make decisions and experiment)
- Sharing knowledge: Collaboration, discussion, building public awareness, hosting educational events, sharing knowledge with each other and outside organizations, and seeking others’ knowledge will be essential. This movement can only grow if knowledge and public awareness grow.
- Transparency: Extra effort should be used to make sure everything is transparent. Keep detailed notes and make sure they are accessible.
- Inclusivity: First we need like-minded individuals to help us begin this effort. But then we must be diligent to include a wide diversity of groups and people who would never otherwise think about trees, nature, etc. We cannot ONLY preach to the choir for this movement to grow.
Our Inspiration:
Pando is a massive clonal colony of Quaking Aspens located in Utah. Every tree in this colony is connected to one another by a single root system. Each tree relies on one another for well-being. Good for one is good for all. Pando derives its strength (50,000 trees, 6,600 tons, 80,000 years old) from its unity.
Join Project Pando!
We need your help to overcome some of our most planet's most pressing health issues. If you join, we'll keep you in the loop regarding events, classes, new developments, and other fun stuff!