Amazon customers will be able to donate $1 to plant a tree by asking the Alexa voice assistant to ‘grow a tree’, with the money going to the One Tree Planted charity.
The new skill has been launched in celebration of Earth Month, with the reforestation charity organizing tree planting in places it will do the most good around the world.
Trees play a vital role in creating clean air and water, maintaining a healthy climate, and providing habitats for wildlife.
‘Alexa, grow a tree’, will run until December 2022, and customers can keep track and view how many trees they help to plant through their Amazon Pay account.
Amazon customers will be able to donate $1 to plant a tree by asking the Alexa voice assistant to ‘grow a tree’, with the money going to the One Tree Planted charity
Amazon says it will also donate $1 million to One Tree Planted, alongside the Alexa skill, designed to help the nonprofit plant a total of one million trees this year.
The initial reforestation projects include the restoration of a surface mine in Appalachia, forest fire restoration in California and fruit trees to fight hunger in India.
One Tree Planted has so far planted over 40 million trees in 42 countries since it was founded in 2014, and more than half were planted in 2021 alone.
The goal is to restore forests, foster biodiversity and ‘make a positive social impact around the world’, according to the charity.
‘We believe that every action and donation, big or small, matters when it comes to supporting a more sustainable future,’ Amazon said.
‘That’s why we are committed to helping customers easily plant trees. It’s also why we have continuously worked to reduce our carbon footprint through The Climate Pledge and encourage recycling efforts through our Trade-In Program.’
The new skill has been launched in celebration of Earth Month, with the reforestation charity organizing tree planting in places it will do the most good around the world
Three of the initial projects are based in the US, with the fourth based in India.
One US project is based in Centre County, Pennsylvania, where the money will help to reforest land once razed for mining, logging and agriculture.
This project helps support the reforestation of approximately 34 acres of surface mined land which is unable to naturally regenerate on its own.
In California, ‘hard-working foresters will dedicate time to promote improved vegetation planning and resource management’, according to One Tree Planted.
The Forest Health Project is a restoration program implemented on privately owned lands with the Mendocino National Forest impacted by the 2018 forest fires in Northern California’s Colusa County.
The only non-US project, in India, will see trees planted and nurtured to provide fruit for smallholder farmers in marginalized communities across the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha, and West Bengal
The restoration program will also see foresters helping to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires and floods in the region.
In the Pacific Northwest, the endangered Southern Resident Orcas have lived for millennia in a stretch of Pacific Ocean from Northern California to British Columbia.
Planting trees along rivers and streams of the Pacific Northwest restores critical habitat for salmon, the primary food source of the endangered whales.
The only non-US project, in India, will see trees planted and nurtured to provide fruit for smallholder farmers in marginalized communities across the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha, and West Bengal.
These fruit trees will help participating farmers create sustainable livelihoods and provide nutritious food to their families and communities.
