Brazil Plants 73 Million Trees

Fun environmental fact no. 1: the Amazon Rainforest provides the world with 20% of its oxygen.

Fun environmental fact no. 2: Rainforests soak up 37% of our carbon emissions.

Less fun environmental fact: About 20% of the world’s rainforests have been cut down (in Brazil’s case, that was largely to pay back debts owed to the U.S.).

Now, back to the good news: A new initiative in Brazil aims to plant 73 million trees on 70,000 acres (roughly the size of 30,000 soccer fields) over the next six year. Even better, the plan involves a new method of tropical reforestation — “at scale” — that takes seeds from all of the varieties of plants in the area, densely packs them, and then replants them all. Thusly, only the strongest sprouts prevail.

The process is called muvuca, and it’s been in the works for several years, during which time 400 varieties of seeds have been collected from the region, mostly by women who live in the forest. The new plan will employ 2,000 locals.

Fast Company first reported on the initiative, which is made possible by Conservation International. They noted that similar initiatives in the area have had great success: rivers that were drying up from deforestation have returned to life where reforestation efforts have taken hold, for one.

In a world dominated by negative stories, it’s important to remember not only the good stories, but also learn from in order to help the world repair itself.