YSP Philippines Billion Trees Project

Help us plant trees in the Philippines and engage youth in all 81 provinces! International Association of Youth and Students for Peace (IAYSP) of the Philippines is helping to support the Philippines' government initiative to plant 1 billion trees in their country. IAYSP Pilipinas has committed to help plant 1 million trees through the organization and IAYSP USA is helping to raise funds and awareness to support them! Collaborating with local mayors, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, other nonprofits and local youth, IAYSP Pilipinas has already planted more than 5,000 trees this spring, and counting.

How does it work?

IAYSP Pilipinas starts with sending a letter of intent to a local mayor explaining their proposal of why, how and when they want to plant trees. They create an agreement or MOU (memorandum of understanding) to clarify who and what will be provided to help with the project. They have agreements with 12 of the 81 provinces so far. While local governments can provide land to plant the trees, they don't always have the funds to provide the tree saplings. This is where you can help!

The IAYSP team in the Philippines estimates the cost for planting each tree to be $1-$4 USD depending on the tree species. This amount also includes the cost of snacks and water for volunteers and transporting volunteers to tree planting sites.

The IAYSP team consults the mayor and a representative of the Environmental Resource Office to determine the best kind of trees to plant based on the environment. Trees being planted include: mahogany, mangrove, bamboo, narra (National Tree of the Philippines), and fruit trees.

The goal is to raise a total of 1 million PHP (Philippine Peso) which is approximately $20,520 USD. We are starting with a goal of $5,000 USD to raise by the end of July.

Not only is this project for tree planting, but for every tree, the goal is to engage one youth. IAYSP Pilipinas engages and trains local youth of the different provinces on the importance and method of planting and caring for the trees. Their goal is to mobilize one million youth this year in 2021.

Aside from planting trees, the project includes a follow up program to visit the sites where the trees were planted to make sure the trees are surviving well and to clean the areas to help the trees grow.

Their schedule this year is:

March-May 2021: special seasonal planting (for mangroves)

June-October 2021: tree and sapling planting

October 2021-May 2022: site visits to check on growth

Any donation will help make an impact! Thanks in advance for your contribution to this project!