How we work to protect our home

In honour of Earth Day, we're talking all things conservation and rehabilitation. One of our partners, TreeEra, is a Canadian based forest conservation organization.

They offer a first step towards a greener lifestyle by offering subscription-based plans to plant trees over the year. Their goal is to plant a billion trees with the help of their partners. We've committed to planting 500 trees annually with them, a number we're hoping to grow as we grow.

Here in BC, for the past few years, the summers have been marked with forest fires across the province. Smoke blankets Vancouver for days at a time. We started working with TreeEra as a response to the fires BC experienced last summer.

Over 1.2 millions hectares of forest was destroyed in BC alone last year, and it was the first time that I think we really realized how climate change is directly affecting us. It was the first time we ever had to think about how polluted the air was, and for me personally I was confronted with the fact that if we sit back and do nothing, this will just keep getting worse.

Additionally, the impact that our home here in the West Coast has made on us is immeasurable. Partnering with Tree Era was a no-brainer to help do our part to protect the delicate eco-systems that surround us.

TreeEra provided us an opportunity to make a real impact close to home. Their first plant location is right here in BC, near Kamloops. This is an area that was destroyed by the Mclure fire, which burned for 75 days straight destroying 26,000 hectares of forest, 72 homes and 9 businesses.

Climate change is an overwhelming problem that doesn't have a simple solution. Founder Michael Fitzgerald said it well, "We’re not saying that planting trees will solve the problem. All we are saying is that by doing so we can start to make a difference. For the price of a drop-in workout, or a few good coffees individuals can start to make a measurable impact. One tree does an incredible amount of good."

Want to learn more? Head over to Tree Era's website to see how you can get involved.