Our Trees / Nuestros Arboles

Blueprint Team 10 - Adam Kosinski, Erin Liu, Luba Havraniak

The Amazon Rainforest is rapidly being deforested due to excessive logging and subsequent land development. Approximately 9,762 square kilometers (3,769 square miles) of rainforest were lost during the 12 months leading up to July 2019, according to The National Institute for Space Research (INPE), entailing a 29.5% increase over the previous 12 months. This increasing deforestation has resulted in the highest rate of loss in 2019 since 2008 and has been causing serious consequences, including global warming, a reduction in oxygen production, biodiversity loss, climate feedback loops from the rainforest drying out, and a destruction of local communities’ environments, which many rely on for survival.

Our project aims to launch a reforestation program through crowdsourced tree planting by locals. Participants will receive monetary or commodity compensation for their tree planting, potentially also offering an accessible form of income for many in need.

The project will be centered around an app that lets people coordinate seed gathering and planting. Locals will be able to join the app for free, then either collect tree seeds to deposit and centralized locations, and/or plant these seeds in designated areas. By documenting their activities with photo and geographical evidence, participants can earn game points, XP, which can be traded in for monetary or commodity rewards (through partnerships with local companies). Even larger rewards can be obtained by proving that the trees a user planted are healthy and growing. The more someone participates and the more their photos are validated (they earn credibility), the greater the rewards they earn and can ascend from bronze to silver to gold and move up the local and global leaderboard. In general, the app is supposed to feel like a game played on an epic scale, tapping into the psychology of such games as additional motivation for participation.

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