After almost four years of planting and growing experience, in early 2011, Trees4Trees™ looked back at the success of these activities.

To date, we have planted 586.520 seedlings involving 9.483 farmers.

All 70 Field Coordinators were tasked in checking past year’s growth and meeting with farmers to get their feedback and gauge our progress.

Tree growth is sustained by the right growing conditions and maybe more importantly, the farmers? energy and enthusiasm in maintaining them. Among the strategies being appraised are:

• Planting on fields that have been used for other crops.
• Planting on empty fields with fertile soil.
• Planting in sensitive areas, such as sacred sites, water catchment areas and areas of high ecological value.

Also being judged is the field management system to assure that Trees4Trees™ goals are being effectively implemented. Preliminary results are showing very good growth rates and survival rates of 91%, well exceeding initial projections. We attribute a good portion of this success to an effective practice of education and consultation with the farmers who will ultimately benefit from the program. These strategies help to advance Trees4Trees™ objectives of increasing economic and environmental value in the communities we serve.