The Trees4Goals initiative is an inspiring project that showcases how sport can drive environmental action. It was created by footballer Lesein Mutunkei, to restore forests and to combine his love for football as a means to preserve Kenya’s natural environment. It demonstrates the importance and impact of local action on creating a green future.
Objectives:
- To promote environmental sustainability through grassroots action
- Utilise sports as a means to restore forests and contribute to a green future
- Contribute to reforestation and mitigate the impact that current trends of deforestation have on the climate and wildlife.
- To inspire environmental conservation and local action
Description of the project:
Trees4Goals has a simple yet powerful application, for every goal that is scored, trees are planted. Initially, only one tree was planted per goal, albeit it has developed to 11 trees per goal (one per teammate). Since the start of the project in 2018, over five and half thousand trees have been planted across Kenya. As a part of the project, Lesein Mutenkei also speaks at schools at various events in order to inspire more young people to take collective action to contribute to a sustainable future.
Impacts & Results:
As previously mentioned, over 5,500 trees have been planted across Kenya. As a challenging part of the project, 700 trees planted by Lesein Mutenkei and his football
teammates were planted in the Karura forest in less than an hour. Planting all these trees is good considering their storage of C02, and restoration to wildlife. The project has also received global recognition and support and through community engagement and by inspiring other users, the initiative has on numerous scales had a tremendously positive impact.
Conclusions & Suggestions for Youth Workers:
The unique quality of the Trees4Goals project is the low cost and creative operations. Similar practices can be incorporated by most youth organisations, as similar goal setting can be set for any sport with some tweaking. Finally, it showcases the importance of creativity and inspiration. Combining sustainability and sports does not need to be difficult or costly, it can be made into fun, inspirational change that has a considerable impact on environmental sustainability.
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