The immense damage to our native forests presents a sad picture of devastation in many places. And this is exactly where we want to take action. We all know about the importance of our forests as carbon sinks within the climate system. We can all feel their direct, positive impact on the local climate, for example as providers of shade. In addition, forests are enormously important for the protection of wildlife and plants, biodiversity, groundwater protection, as well as protection against avalanches and flooding, to name just a few of their many functions. For most people, forests also play a very important role as places for recreation.

These reasons have motivated us to carry out the urgently needed reforestation of our native forests. Here, we can make our projects transparent and sustainable. We do not want to join the many reforestation projects in countries such as South America or Africa, where we tend to operate in anonymity.

The majority of our native forests consist of coniferous forests. In Germany, they account for a total of 54%, around 55% in Austria, and more than 65% in Switzerland. In most cases, these are spruce stands. While spruce is perfectly suited to the Alpine regions, where it is native, it has increasingly become a major problem in lower-altitude areas. In recent years, we have predominantly observed damage to spruce monocultures. Due to changes in our climatic conditions, our forests are facing increasingly prolonged periods of drought. Flooding, windthrow and snow breakage add further stress. The result is weakened or damaged trees and forest areas. This creates a paradise for bark beetles and other pests, which then cause further extensive damage.

We therefore need to move away from spruce monocultures and towards resilient, healthy mixed forests that are better able to cope with the new conditions. We want to make our forests fit for the future.

This depends on the location and soil conditions. Following a thorough analysis, we select a mixture adapted to the local conditions, consisting of species such as English oak, European hornbeam, small-leaved lime, rowan and Douglas fir, among others.

«myreforest» primarily operates in the DACH region. Naturally, the costs of materials and labor are higher here than, for example, for reforestation projects in Latin America or Africa.

In addition, during the first few years we protect and maintain our young trees to ensure the long-term survival of our newly reforested areas and to avoid costly replanting.

Human-induced climate change is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Wherever possible, CO₂ emissions should not be generated in the first place, but avoided. However, since what matters most for the climate is that global emissions decrease overall, unavoidable emissions can also be offset.

Unavoidable emissions are those that cannot be avoided, or can only be avoided with difficulty, even when living in an environmentally conscious way. Examples include emissions resulting from our food consumption, housing and mobility. Of course, we can already do a great deal in these areas too, for example by reconsidering our meat consumption and travel habits.

For emissions that we cannot avoid or cannot yet reduce, «myreforest» offers a regional offsetting option through tree planting.

Yes. myreforest is a non-profit organization and is therefore tax-exempt in Germany. All compensation payments and donations to myreforest can be deducted from taxable income in Germany.

For donations of EUR 300.00 or more, we will send a donation receipt to the donor’s address after receipt of payment. For amounts below EUR 300.00, proof of payment on your bank statement is sufficient for submission to the tax office.

Unfortunately, our supporters in Switzerland cannot deduct donations to a foreign organization from their taxes.

Yes. «myreforest» issues certificates in the form of a tree certificate. You can also have these certificates issued in another person’s name and give them to that person or company as a gift.

At present, no officially recognized certificates for forest conversion or reforestation projects in the European Union can be issued for companies. Reforestation in existing forests in Germany cannot yet be certified accordingly because the CO₂ sequestration of native forest areas is already included in the national climate balance, regardless of their actual condition. Consequently, retiring a CO₂ certificate would constitute so-called «double counting». However, this issue is known to policymakers and businesses, and we hope that a solution will be found. As soon as we are able to retire CO₂ certificates through our native reforestation projects, we will of course let you know.

Emissions trading is intended to encourage companies and private households to emit less carbon dioxide (CO₂). You can find a detailed explanation of how this works here.

Yes, of course. All of our projects are presented on our website. Our donors have the opportunity to donate to a specific project and/or for a specific number of trees. The projects are documented, and we will regularly keep you informed about the progress of the reforestation and the development of the newly planted trees. We also provide the exact geographic coordinates of our reforestation areas. This means you can even visit your trees, provided the area can be reached via official forestry or hiking trails.