Planting Forever Forests: Join a Purpose-Led Adventure in 2026/27

What if your next adventure could help restore forests, support local communities, and leave a legacy that lasts for generations?

In 2026 and 2027, New Zealand conservation company Forever Trees are inviting travellers to take part in hands-on reforestation projects in Kenya/Tanzania and Madagascar. Meaningful two-week expeditions where small groups work alongside local people to help plant 10,000 native trees on community-led projects.

These projects blend genuine environmental impact with the chance to explore remarkable landscapes and wildlife. You’ll spend your days planting indigenous trees purchased directly from community nurseries, meeting the people working to protect their forests, and learning how reforestation restores ecosystems, supports water catchments, and creates long-term employment. In between planting projects, there’s time to experience the region’s culture, scenery and wildlife — whether it’s wildlife-rich parks, mountain villages, tropical coastlines or forests alive with species found nowhere else.

These are not glamorous trips — expect to get hot, sweaty, muddy and wonderfully tired — but you’ll return each day to comfortable lodges, guesthouses, glamping tents or beachside stays, complete with hot showers and great meals. And you’ll share each planting project with local teams, school groups and nursery workers, gaining a genuine connection with the communities who continue caring for these forests long after visitors have gone home.

Why Africa? Why Trees?

Across many African regions, deforestation is accelerating at alarming rates. Forests are disappearing for fuel, farming and timber — from East Africa, where hundreds of thousands of hectares are lost each year, to island environments where native forest cover has been heavily fragmented

Planting trees in these areas has a powerful and immediate impact: saplings grow quickly in tropical climates, carbon uptake is fast, and restored forests help stabilise soil, protect water sources, support wildlife and strengthen local livelihoods.

Planting in Africa is also remarkably cost-effective. For the same cost of planting 1,000 trees in New Zealand, you can often fund up to four times as many trees through Forever Trees — including the seedling, site preparation, wages for local planting teams and ongoing forest protection

Each participant sponsors their own trees — usually around 1,000 per person — which makes it easy for a group of 10–12 people to collectively reach the 10,000-tree goal. And with most carbon calculators recommending just 5–7 trees to offset flights, travellers on these journeys plant far beyond their own footprint.

Hard Work, Real Impact, Lifelong Memories

These expeditions are conservation in its truest form: practical, community-driven, and deeply rewarding. One day you might be planting seedlings on degraded farmland, the next working in a community forest, restoring wildlife corridors, or ankle-deep in mangrove mud during a low-tide window. Every tree is grown by local nurseries, every planted sapling supports local employment, and every project helps rebuild forests that will protect people and nature for decades to come.

Alongside the planting, you’ll have time to explore — from wildlife reserves to rural communities, coastlines, forests, markets and cultural experiences. There will be laughter, shared meals, meaningful conversations and the sense of being part of something bigger than yourself.

A Journey That Gives More Than It Takes

These projects go far beyond “voluntourism.”
Forever Trees works directly with local communities, schools, nurseries and conservation groups to make sure every tree planted is the right species, in the right place, with the right long-term care.

• Every sapling is sourced from local nurseries
• Every planting day provides jobs and income
• Every forest restored strengthens water catchments and biodiversity
• Every traveller contributes far more than the carbon cost of their journey

It’s about creating forever forests — resilient, community-led and built to last.

Is This Trip for You?

If you’re the kind of traveller who loves the idea of:

• getting your hands dirty
• working with like-minded people
• meeting local communities and learning their stories
• exploring extraordinary landscapes and wildlife
• contributing to long-term environmental restoration
• sharing friendships, memories and laughter along the way

…then this is exactly the kind of adventure you’ll love.

You don’t need to be super fit — just willing to muck in, embrace the experience and enjoy a very different kind of travel.

Project Details at a Glance

• Tree-planting goal: 10,000 trees (based on 10–12 participants)
• Project structure: Four community-led planting projects across varied ecosystems
• Accommodation: Lodges, guesthouses, glamping tents and coastal stays
• Included: Meals, local guides, planting support teams, transport, interpreters
• Not included: International airfares, visas, optional activities, vaccinations and personal gear

Detailed itineraries for each region will be available separately.

16-day Madagascar Forest Restoration Project (4-19 April 2026)
15-day Kenya and Tanzania Reforestation Project (10-24 October 2026)
16-day Madagascar Forest Restoration Project (6 to 21 March, 2027)
15-day Kenya and Tanzania Reforestation Project (9-23 October 2027)

Join Us to Plant Forever Forests

If you’re ready for an adventure with purpose — one that restores forests, supports local communities and leaves a legacy long after you’ve returned home — then we’d love to have you on board.

Roll up your sleeves, dig into the earth, meet extraordinary people, and help grow forests that will stand for generations.

You can also read the newsletter from the Forever Trees Kenya/Tanzania trip this year  (2025)