Global Action Give Back Equator Trees
Class Description
Jennifer Leigh Smith “Tree Jenny” grew up on a sustainable farm in Louisiana playing in the woods and bayous, marveling with the Nature all around her. Transplanting herself to Costa Rica as a home base over 21 years ago, Jenny is a lawyer, agro-forester and certified CO2 auditor who champions fair pay for tree planters around the Equator. In 2009, Jenny founded Community Carbon Trees to champion tropical reforestation programs funded by generous Sponsors from around the world who want to give back to Mother Earth and leave a rainforest legacy.
Hands on grassroots participation and education coupled with paying a living wage to all workers has empowered vulnerable families, including women, in both Central America and Kenya, Africa to stop deforestation and regenerate their own land and livelihoods. Building peer capacity for self management and development of value added entrepreneurial opportunities with sustainable forest products and eco tourism has added to the long term success to achieve a paradigm change to one of sustainable forest guardianship. So far, all together with workers, sponsors and volunteers, Tree Jenny has produced, planted and maintained at least 570,000 trees over 100 diverse native species growing together in natural food forests on land owned by local people for future generations.
www.communitycarbontrees.org
@TreeJenny
Facebook Community Carbon Trees Costa Rica

