The astonishing cost of planting a tree

The cost of planting a tree: Planting trees all over the world costs a lot of money. And it is hard work to reforest our planet. It requires organization, planning and, of course, money.

The cost of planting a tree: Planting trees all over the world costs a lot of money. And it is hard work to reforest our planet. It requires organization, planning and, of course, money.

Is that all there is to it? What else is needed to plant a tree? How much do all these individual elements cost? What does a tree cost? Can a single tree really cost 15 million dollars? And is it true that you can plant trees for free?

Today we give you an answer to everything.

We are constantly trying to find new ways to provide you with exciting details about the benefits of the trees we have planted with your help. We love to talk about how planting trees helps local people. Stories about the rescued animals and the positive impact on our environment are some of our favorites!

But today it’s all about money. We are often asked the question about money, so we have written a detailed answer here.

Read on to find out what it costs to plant a tree.

How much does it cost to plant a tree?

Trees will always have a certain cost factor. And it will always take a lot of human labor to plant, care for and raise a tree.

Planting trees on a large scale requires investment, management, organization, careful planning and a thoughtful, sustainable approach. That adds up to quite a few costs.

Let’s take a closer look at what a tree costs.

Bureaucracy

To set up plantations and nurseries for planting trees abroad, we have to do a lot of paperwork. And that takes a lot of time.

Visas must be organized, authorizations submitted for planning – and everything must comply with the relevant international regulations.

We also receive money via online platforms such as PayPal and send money via TransferWise. However, the fact that mass production increases profitability means that the cost of bureaucracy per tree is very low.

Seedlings

Which came first, seedling or tree? We would have to write another article to clarify this question.

For now, it is enough to know that we could not plant trees without first growing seedlings. Although this is one of the smaller cost factors for planting a tree, we must not ignore it.

Later we will discuss the costs for different types of seedlings. We plant a number of different trees to maximize the benefits of tree planting.

Planning what species of tree is needed, where it will be planted, and how many of each species need to be planted are all factors that determine what a tree will cost.

Another thing is the procurement of the trees. If we use the seedlings from existing trees instead of buying them, there are also costs for sorting the seedlings.

Fortunately, these costs are very low due to the high number.

Nurseries

Once the seedlings have been planted, they need to be cared for in the nursery. We don’t just stick them in the ground and disappear.

After the seed has germinated, its roots grow and a plant emerges through the soil. The chances of the seedlings doing this are much higher under the watchful eyes of our nursery staff.

At this early stage, it is particularly important for the young trees to grow under optimal climatic conditions and with regular irrigation. We nurture the seedlings until they can feed themselves from the nutrients in the soil.

We take care of the young trees and give them everything they need to grow big and strong. Their irrigation, the working hours of our employees and the resources required also determine what a tree costs.

Planting trees in the field

Now it’s time to get started: when the young tree is big and strong enough for the great outdoors, life begins in earnest!

Our experienced planters have to work the land and plant the young trees strategically so that they can thrive and create a new forest.

Certain tree species favor each other’s growth with astonishing results. We use this advantage in various planting projects, for example in Ghana, where we apply the syntropic strategy for reforestation.

Financial resources are needed for many things: for land work, to pay our experienced tree planters a fair wage and to prune and care for the trees.

Long-term care

In case you didn’t already know, at Click A Tree we don’t employ volunteers to plant trees. We want our employees to receive a fair wage for their work.

Would you like to plant trees in a tropical climate at 30°C without receiving a single cent in return? Probably not, because it’s hard work. And we reward our employees for this with an appropriate salary. Hopefully this is also in your interest!

By employing local specialists, we can plant trees sustainably. This gives the trees the best chance of forming new forests and the work supports the local communities.

An additional benefit is that the knowledge and experience of tree planting in the region improves. The next generation already has the know-how to help reforest the world.

By paying our workers a fair wage, we also ensure that the trees are not felled in a few years’ time. As farmers continue to be paid fairly for the care of their trees, there is no incentive to cut down trees for a one-off payment.

And what smart farmer would want to upset the people who feed him?

The Click A Tree Team

So much for the trees and the local farmers. But what about us?

Like our farmers on the plantations, we also deserve a fair wage for our work. This is covered by the cost of a tree. We hope you understand that we also have to earn money to live – at least until we have found a way to pay our rent and buy food with trees alone.

Why does the cost of a tree vary so much?

Now that we’ve gone into detail about the cost of a tree, you probably have a rough idea of the final sum in your head.

But wait – the costs for trees can still vary greatly.

In the article Planting trees for free, we explained that a tree in your backyard can cost as much as 25,000 euros!

A tree in a German city can cost between €1,200 and €5,000. There are reasons why urban trees are so expensive, mainly because of the price of land and labor costs.

Sometimes urban trees can cost as much as 15 million dollars!

If these figures have shocked you, don’t worry! The cost of a tree from Click A Tree is considerably lower.

I’m sure you’re still wondering “how much does a tree cost?” We’ll now tell you what it costs to plant a tree here. The amount may differ considerably from what other companies charge.

Even with mass planting of trees, the costs can vary considerably. For the following reasons, planting trees can cost from one to thousands of euros.

The place

First we need to look at where trees are planted in the world. Some countries are much cheaper than others.

In addition, different locations in the same country can have different land prices. Even when planting trees, the location is crucial.

Good soil quality means better survival chances for the trees. However, high-quality soil also ensures that crops, for example, are more likely to thrive.

If the land can be used for several agricultural purposes, this increases the price.

Lower soil quality, on the other hand, means less competition for alternative uses. However, this results in lower survival rates, which means that we have to replant more trees than on sites with high-quality soil.

We guarantee that every tree we plant will survive (at least) the first three crucial years. However, should a tree unfortunately die within this time, we will plant a new one at no extra cost to you.

The weather

In many countries where we plant trees, the climate is hot and tropical. These countries tend to have pronounced rainy and dry seasons. Other countries such as Nepal or Peru have seasons in which cold temperatures also play a role.

This means that some farms need more water than others. In some countries, the soil is naturally wetter than in others. If we have to improve the soil quality with mulch, that also costs money.

Irrigation can also very quickly become a significant cost factor, especially if there is no natural water source nearby. To ensure that the cost of a tree does not get out of control, all our projects use nearby natural water sources.

In this way, the trees have access to the groundwater and thus get as much water as they need. They also return the water to the soil as part of the cycle, mixed with additional minerals and vitamins.

So instead of being selfish and stealing all the water from dry landscapes, trees actually improve the soil quality of the entire site.

Different tree species

The type of tree is also decisive. In general, the larger the tree, the higher the costs.

These larger trees require more care in the early stages. They take longer to develop, need the most nutrients from the soil and the most water to grow. Smaller trees, on the other hand, can be relatively inexpensive.

Certain trees also need more care and attention than others, and the fruit is also crucial. Mango trees, for example, grow quite large compared to avocado trees.

Both trees are incredibly valuable, as their fruit is sold all over the world at high prices. If this is the case, the seedlings are correspondingly more expensive.

All these factors mean that the prices for different trees vary.

Labor costs

Then there are the labor costs. These are among the costs that vary most from country to country.

Click A Tree’s vision is to make sustainability simple. But simple does not mean cheap.

Wherever we plant trees, we pay our employees a fair full-time wage. To be precise, we pay a little more than just “fair”. We want to make planting trees a valued trade that many people aspire to. This is the only way to make tree planting truly sustainable in the long term.

A tree planter in Germany costs far more than a tree planter in Ghana. This has a significant impact on the price.

We have already mentioned that we do not work with volunteers, and there are reasons for this.

First of all, volunteers only work as long as they want to and have enough money to cover their needs. This usually only takes a few months, a year at most. But when we plant trees, we have to think in terms of decades, not months.

Secondly, paying a fair salary encourages long-term employee commitment. Local communities benefit financially from the efforts and will therefore continue to support Click A Tree and our mission.

That’s why we have a request for you: If you decide to live more sustainably, do it right. Make sure that your commitment is not only ecologically but also socially sustainable. This is the best way to make our planet a better place for everyone and ensure that your environmental commitment is sustainable in the long term.

The purpose

Another reason why the cost of a tree varies is the general purpose of planting it. Some companies may be interested in planting only one species of tree to keep their costs down. Just like low-cost airlines, for example, which fly with just one type of aircraft.

But planting trees is not like flying. We cannot cut costs everywhere. And what’s more, we can’t charge moon prices for hand luggage!

Instead, we need to create diverse ecosystems that increase the trees’ chances of survival and maximize their impact on their environment. Such diverse ecosystems have the best chance of surviving the effects of climate change.

For this reason, at Click A Tree we plant different tree species with different costs. Even if each individual tree has different costs, we are sticking to our long-term, sustainable goals.

Our long-term goal at Click A Tree

We are really coming straight to the actual cost of a tree! But first we need to talk about why we plant so many different tree species at Click A Tree.

We could of course sell every tree at a low price. However, this would mean that we would only plant the cheapest trees. We would also only plant a single species.

Wouldn’t that be a bit boring? Maybe you’re thinking, “the more trees that are planted, the better it is!” And that six cheap trees are better than one expensive one. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple.

That’s why we at Click A Tree are a little more demanding.

Our projects are sustainable. We have a long-term goal and keep this in focus when carefully planning our farms. We plant a variety of trees to create sustainable mixed forests.

These forests should reflect natural forests as closely as possible. In some projects, such as in Thailand, we plant more than 40 different tree species! They all have different costs: different purchase prices, different growing times and different levels of care required.

This is how you can create the best forests. The different tree species favor each other’s growth. The soil is rich, the trees produce many different fruits, and a variety of animals enjoy the benefits.

These animals then in turn help to spread the seeds. And a wonderful, naturally rejuvenating ecosystem has been created.

The cost of planting a tree

Now you’re thinking, with all these cost factors, it costs the earth to plant a tree, right? It does not.

At Click A Tree, the cost of a tree is between 5 and 30 euros. Sometimes it can be a little more expensive, depending on the amount of work and other expenses.

That’s not bad, is it? We can plant a healthy, balanced and sustainable forest. And that costs just as much as a beer or a concert ticket per tree. You don’t have to pay anywhere near the thousands of euros it would take to plant a tree in a big city!

Sure, some companies offer to plant trees for less than €5. But we believe that our long-term goal and planting many different trees is the most sustainable approach. We hope you agree with us.

We therefore calculate how many trees we need to plant of each species. We work out how long they need to grow, how much care they require and then calculate an average price.

We want to make sustainability simple. Even when reforesting the world!

You may also be interested in: 40+ sustainable tips for more sustainable companies.

Whatever the cost, let’s plant trees!

And this is where you come in! We need all the support we can get to plant more trees and reforest the planet.

Whether you go out for sushi, book your next trip with our travel tool B’n’Tree, buy a tree with Click A Tree or sign up for our newsletter. Your support helps us to cover the costs of planting the trees.

In the last decade, we have been able to plant more than 10,000 trees thanks to your help. Isn’t that great? With your support, we hope to plant even more trees this decade. That’s why we’re calling the decade the “Twentrees “(a mixture of the English words “Twentees” for the twenties and “Tree” for tree).

Large-scale tree planting reduces the cost of a tree. That’s why we need your help to plant even more. The costs fall, we can create more forests and we all benefit from the advantages.

That can only be a good thing, right?

Do you think you are paying a fair price when you plant trees with us? Do you think it’s worth the effort to plant the many different tree species, with all their benefits?

What do you think a tree should cost? You can also let us know on Facebook what you think about the cost of a tree. Share our post in your Instagram Story and don’t forget to tell your friends and family about us.

Trees produce oxygen, which we need to breathe. They provide us with nutrient-rich fruit and are home and food source for countless wild animals. They regenerate landscapes that we have destroyed.

It is really important that we do our utmost to protect them.

Thank you for your support and commitment. Let’s keep planting trees!

Source reference:

¹https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2019/12/11/is-this-15-million-christmas-tree-the-most-expensive-in-the-world/#30113959e89e