In January of 2020, Forest Unlimited planted 1400 redwood seedlings on two different properties, one near Occidental and the other near Sebastopol. The plantings that took place over two days and involved the efforts of about 100 volunteers.
Forest Unlimited has been doing these large plantings for at least 20 years. We estimate that the number of redwood seedlings planted is around 33,000. Since our survival rate considering drought years is about 75%, we determine that about 20,000 new redwood trees are growing. This brings us to stating that in 20 years, 20 thousand trees are growing in 2020.
We must emphasize that planting trees, as positive of an activity as it is, is not the best way to sequester carbon. The best way is to not log intact forests but to let them grow. The larger the trees in forest settings, the more sequestering they’ll do. Redwoods are the best trees in the world for doing this–it has to do with size and age.
We hope to increase protection of forests that are now being logged aggressively in both public and private forests, and in so doing, change the way we view forests. There are other ways of getting fiber and building materials but only a few effective ways to sequester carbon that will save our planet.
Forest Unlimited’s website is www.forestunlimited.org