Future Forests: Better Off Planting Your Own Trees?
by TreeHugger 
on 04.14.05
We’ve previously mentioned Future Forests, a company you can pay to offset your carbon emissions, as well as the trend for celebrities to donate to the private, for-profit organization. While we wondered if throwing cash at environmental problems wasn’t the most responsible approach, it did seem to be a good way to lessen the impact of air travel, for example. Now, though, there’s a new report about Future Forests’ use of funds: a formal complaint made against the company claims that it doesn’t spend enough money planting trees. While the UK trading standards office investigates the claim, Future Forests says that planting trees is only part of their climate change program. If you’ve got the space, planting your own trees and making energy- and resource-efficient choices ensures you know exactly how your money is working for the environment. ::Off-Grid [by KK]
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I had a very negative experience with Future Forest.
There are several other non-profit organizations that will plant trees in your honor or someone else's for a donation, an option to consider if you cannot plant trees for yourself.
Try www.treesforlife.org, www.americanforests.org or www.arborday.org
Plant bambooo! Trees take a long time to grow, and might not be an option in some locations. Find out which species of bamboo grows best in your area, and start a bamboo grove. Bamboos are grass, not trees. They provide very useful materials and food, and grow extremely fast.
Hi, I also had a bad experience with future forests; I was especially annoyed when I found out they were a 'for-profits' organisation, who only donate 20% of the money they recieve towards planting trees. I have found a delightfull 'not for profit' organisation (run by volunteers) who spend every penny on planting brand new trees, and do a much better job in my mind - http://www.growaforest.com/