Felix Finkbeiner Upgrades United Nations Billion Tree Program To A Trillion Trees

Felix Finkbeiner was 12-years-old when he planted his one-millionth tree in Germany. Now 20, Finkbeiner has taken over the United Nations’ (UN) Billion Tree Program, planning to instead plant another trillion trees, according to the Good News Network.

In 2007, he founded Plant for the Planet, which has recruited over 65,000 children between the ages 9 and 12 to help make Earth greener. The initiative, of course, encourages planting trees. As a preteen, Finkbeiner gave speeches to the European Parliament and the United Nations General Assembly which helped garner young members from over 90 different countries.

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He was only nine-years-old when he became a figurehead in the environment protection world. Finkbeiner said, “Forests are not only the livelihood of billions, but for us children forests are our future.”

The UN’s Billion Tree Program was inspired by Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Wangari Maathai, who lead the Green Belt Movement that planted 30 million trees in Africa. Now, Finkbeiner wants to upgrade the billion to trillion within the next 30 years.

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According to the Trillion Trees website, Earth loses about 10 billion trees a year. This causes an increase in carbon emission, harsher local climates, lack of homes for wildlife, diminishing freshwater sources and more. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), BirdLife International and the Wildlife Conservation Society have teamed up to help restore trees and end deforestation.