One of the biggest challenges in global reforestation is the cost of planting trees. The total cost of seeds, maintaining saplings, and especially labor costs, can be staggering. In difficult-to-approach terrains or regions, these costs are significantly inflated, further hindering the re-planting projects in these regions.
Thankfully, with proper employment, technology can lower these costs. Take a look at the five most recent inventions in the 21st century that make greening deforested areas a snap.
1. The Podder
Because the average stride length is approximately 5 feet (60 inches), sowing seeds in large areas is a herculean task.
In 2019, South African Andries Louw and Australian Andrew Walker come together to find a means to increase productivity. Their result is the Podder, their own seed-sowing machine.
The Podder works on a simple premise. With enough power and a good vantage point, you can spread your seed further in a shorter time. Their pneumatic firing module rapidly fires 2 seeds per second into the soil. Its velocities reach anywhere between 150 and 300 meters per second.
With both speed, power, and range, this invention rapidly fires its seeds far and wide in hard-to-approach terrain. It can be attached to any drone, which allows a larger vantage point from the air. Their inventors estimated that, in a team of two, they could sow approximately 40,000 seeds into the ground per day. This equals a day’s work in conventional seed-sowing methods.
You can buy their invention here.
2. The Cocoon
Another problem for seedlings is their low survival rate, reaching only 51% if they are not cared for after planting. However, the care-taking or maintenance cost of these seedlings can significantly increase your tree-planting cost.
The Cocoon is a 2013 invention by the Land Life Company. Modeled after the pots used in ancient Mesopotamia, this reforestation equipment aims to improve upon the original water-retaining pot. Instead of surrounding the seed with 3 breakable clay pots, the Cocoon uses a large recycled-carton pot to contain water.
The Cocoon has gone through extensive fine-tuning to improve its sustainability, such as biodegradability, coatings, and controlled seepage. Having been used in 25 countries, this invention has contributed significantly to tree-planting worldwide.
However, the Cocoon gets better. Its 2020’s update focuses more on building an effective inner water over-7-liter reservoir without using wax. With a secure lid to protect the seedling, the Cocoon is a solid guarantee for your seedlings’ survival.
3. The VHCP, or Van Horlick’s cultivator-planter
Unlike sowing seeds, planting seedlings requires the extra steps of plowing the ground and potential hilling. That’s why planting seedlings is more costly.
Van Horlick’s Cultivator Planter, aka “VHCP”, is a new reforestation breakthrough in labor cost-cutting in agroforestry. Thanks to its design, it can accomplish 10 times the workload of a normal person. This equates to around 1500 cultivated and planted spots per hour.
The VHCP shines, especially when you need a large number of trees planted quickly in heavily deforested regions. Because of its special design, it can carry out the workload of at least three people. More specifically, it loosens packed-down soil and then uses three maneuverable cultivator heads to insert seedlings in three rows.
Another notable feature is its ability to plant mixed trees. With this, you can combine up to 3 types of trees in the same session without needing separate machines. This is especially handy if you want to increase the biodiversity of the trees you plant. Produced at ISO 9001-certified facilities, these machines are high-quality goods that are built to last.
4. The Africa Tree Finder and The Regreening Africa apps
Everybody owns a smartphone nowadays, with a lot of powerful and convenient apps that render your computer obsolete at times. This leads to lots of tree-planting apps finding their way onto sustainability advocates’ phones.
One of the most used reforestation apps, the Africa Tree Finder app shows the indigenous tree species in the area. With this app, your planted trees will have an increased survival rate, which boosts your reforestation effort’s efficiency. The app is free to use, which means the app won’t increase your cost to plant trees.
The Regreening Africa app is another tree-planting app that has seen lots of popularity recently. By providing you with the correct data, the app keeps you well-informed about your efforts.
Available in 8 countries, the app makes sure that your tree planting effort is covered internationally. The app keeps track of restoration efforts, as well as the invasive species threatening indigenous ones.
5. Tenere coupon extension
Surprisingly, online shopping causes more greenhouse gas emissions. However, the shopping industry is making more efforts to lessen its detrimental effects on the Earth. This leads to a myriad of brands, retailers, and shopping platforms optimizing their operations to promote sustainability.
Among them, Tenere is a coupon extension that helps you apply the latest coupons to your purchase for less. However, unlike other coupon extensions, a part of its commission will go to different tree-planting organizations to plant more trees.
With its goal of supporting worldwide reforestation efforts, Tenere is constantly adding new store partners. Because it prioritizes eco-friendly stores, you can shop for even more things at discounts without harming the environment.
It’s 2022, and cutting-edge inventions are unveiled daily. No matter the task, green tech giants are bringing forth groundbreaking technologies to improve our lives.
By incorporating more technology into reforestation efforts, we are combating climate change while increasing their efficiency. Technologies might be a game-changer for us all when it comes to combating the negative impacts of global warming.
