Plant One: Restoring Cornwall’s Forests and Ecosystems through Crowdfunding
by Tom Wood | Oct 01, 2024 | Stories
Tree cover in the UK has been steadily declining for decades, but Carl Rowlinson, founder of Plant One, is on a mission to change that. His Community Interest Company (CIC) aims to combat climate change and the biodiversity crisis by planting new woodlands and restoring natural habitats across the southwest of England. With the help of crowdfunding, Plant One is building a community-driven movement to restore Cornwall’s lost forests.
Carl’s Passion for Trees and Conservation
Carl’s deep-rooted passion for trees began during his career as an arborist. Reflecting on his journey, Carl explains, “I started life as an arborist. So, I’ve always been interested in trees. So, when it came to looking at ways that I could affect change, planting trees and creating woodlands was an obvious choice for me.” What began as a small-scale initiative on a single field has grown into an expansive project creating hundreds of acres of woodland across the southwest of England.
However, Plant One’s work isn’t solely about tree planting. It addresses another pressing issue: biodiversity loss. As Carl puts it, “We’re facing a climate crisis, as everyone knows. What we often don’t talk about is the biodiversity crisis as well. And unfortunately, the UK is really in the mix of that.”
The numbers are alarming. Carl points out that Cornwall’s canopy cover is just 8%, compared to 13% nationally, down from a historical 98%. This loss of natural habitats, including temperate rainforests, has left the UK’s biodiversity severely depleted.
Crowdfunding: A Key to Success
Restoring ecosystems requires significant resources, not just for planting trees but for behind-the-scenes work such as planning and logistics. This is where crowdfunding has played a vital role in Plant One’s success. As Carl explains, “Quite often, a lot of the contributions that we get go straight into the actual doing, the planting and the creating of the woodlands. But there’s a whole team, there’s a whole network and a whole support system behind that.”
Plant One chose Crowdfunder as its platform for several reasons, including the built-in support and access to match funding. “Crowdfunder ultimately is a fantastic platform for us. It means that we can reach a large audience, and there’s a lot of support. Not only that, their own in-house match funding hit perfectly and aligned perfectly with the work that we’re doing.”
The results have been remarkable. Through crowdfunding, Plant One raised over £30,000, with £19,000 of that coming from match funding from organizations like the Aviva Community Fund and the Cornwall Climate and Nature Fund. This support has been a game changer for the project. Carl shares, “It’s not only super-boosted the work that we can do, it’s given us a working amount of money that we can use to carry on doing the work we’re doing.”
A Vision for the Future
For Carl, Plant One’s mission is deeply personal, and it’s about creating something that will last for generations. “One of the fantastic things I love doing now is driving around and pointing at fields that I planted trees in and saying, ‘We planted those.’ That was just fantastic,” Carl says. His vision extends far beyond the present, imagining a future where he can take his children and grandchildren through the woodlands that his team planted today.
But Plant One’s work isn’t just about planting trees—it’s about “restoring entire ecosystems and building a much more sustainable future.” This means focusing on habitat restoration through both tree planting and natural regeneration.
How You Can Get Involved
Carl and his team at Plant One are committed to creating woodlands and restoring biodiversity, but they can’t do it alone. Carl emphasizes the need for broad community involvement, stating, “We need the whole community to get behind that—businesses, landowners, volunteers.”
He encourages others to join the cause: “If you want to be a part of that, and you want to step through those woodlands that you planted, and you want to take your grandkids through the woodlands that you planted, please come and get involved.”
Plant One’s vision is about making a lasting, tangible impact on the environment, and with the help of crowdfunding and community support, they are making that dream a reality—one tree at a time.
If you’re inspired by Carl’s project and want to start your own crowdfunder, get started today!