Answering the Call : Motivation and Experiences of Leaders in the Global Regenerative Forestation Movement

Abstract

Forestation, the planting and cultivation of trees, is an important strategy utilized by community groups, farmers, NGOs, and governments, to counteract catastrophic climate change. Regenerative forestation is an ecological approach to forestation that also considers stakeholders, with a focus on benefits to the local community. This exploratory study identifies commonalities in motivations, experiences, ecological and movement building practices, and ways of knowing the natural world that inform the work of leaders in the regenerative forestation movement. Through interviews with renowned tree planting activists from around the world, an organizing theme emerged: the incorporation of ways of knowing, akin to those found in indigenous science and traditional ecological knowledge, was essential to interviewees’ approaches to regenerative forestation. The research draws its transdisciplinary theoretical foundations from Indigenous Science and Systems Theory, and builds on existing research in forest and landscape restoration, environmental volunteerism and motivation, and ways of knowing.