Buddhist Climate Project
350 TARGET:
Dalai Lama’s Endorsement;
background, letter, new developments
Economics of 350
BUDDHIST DECLARATION
ON CLIMATE CHANGE:
Read & Sign it
En Francais
THE BOOK:
Contributors, Overview,
Contents, Excerpts
TAKE ACTION:
Plant a Tree in the Sheltering Grove
THE THIRD POLE:
Climate Crisis in Tibet & China
Food, famine & climate change in India
Nepal, India, Bangaldesh:
Signs of Deadly Climate Change
MULTIMEDIA:
Our Slideshow
ANALAYSIS OF FIRST 5000
DECLARATION SIGNATORIES:
Signatories by Country
Signatories by Affiliation
Dharma Teacher/Scholar Signatories
Ecological Buddhism Blog
Declaration Progress & Key News Updates
Extreme Ice Survey
Seeing Is Believing
Photo Essay (click to watch)
Climate Change: One Planet One Chance
Slideshow (Powerpoint)
Plan B 3.0 - Mobilizing to Save Civilization
PDF (right click & save)
Climate Change, Biggest Global Health Threat of the 21st Century
Take Action
Reforesting the Earth
Plant a Tree Here and Now!
The symbolism—and the substantive significance—of planting a tree has universal power in every culture and every society on Earth, and it is a way for individual men, women, and children to participate in creating solutions for the environmental crisis.
- Al Gore, Nobel Peace Prize 2007
The Buddhist Climate Project, in combination with Trees for Life, offers you a chance to plant a tree in a large new grove in the Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands. Leading up to the crucial U.N. Climate Treaty Conference in Copenhagen (COP-15; December 2009) you can donate a tree or trees to this dedicated grove, The Sheltering Grove of Interdependence.
The Caledonian Forest originally covered 1.5 million hectares of the Scottish Highlands as a vast primeval wilderness of Scots pine, birch, rowan, aspen, juniper and other trees. Today just 1% of the forest remains. Volunteers are working cooperatively to ensure the survival of this ancient temperate zone forest.
Trees for Life (TFL) is dedicated to restoring the forest to a target area of 600 square miles. They work in partnership with the Forestry Commission, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and private landowners. They own and manage the 10,000 acre Dundreggan Estate. Hundreds of volunteers join TFL annually in planting over 100,000 trees in protected areas, and carry out other restoration work such as seed collection and propagation of young trees and rare woodland plants.
TFL has planted over 750,000 trees since 1989 and is working to restore the forest for the long term (250 years or more) as a fully functioning healthy ecosystem complete with all its constituent species. Tree planting by itself is not enough, as the wellbeing of the planet depends on the ecological services that intact forests provide. The work focuses on all parts of the ecosystem, from fungi and insects in the soil to large mammals such as wild boar and beavers, as they are all are essential to the whole. Because of the long-term vision and time frame for the project, and due to the remote locations involved, the trees you plant will grow indefinitely and will never be cut down. They will be there as part of a restored Caledonian Forest for many generations into the future, contributing to the healing of the Earth.
Plant a tree in the
Sheltering Grove of Interdependence
Take Action
Lady Maya gives birth to the Buddha—her right hand holds a branch of the
“No Worries” tree while her left is draped over the shoulder of an attendant
Under a tree the great sage Buddha was born.
Under a tree he overcame passion
And obtained enlightenment.
Under two trees he passed into Nirvana.
Indeed, the Buddha held trees in great esteem.
—Dalai Lama XIV
Trees beautify our planet and are important symbols for all religions. They provide very many protective functions and services. Those include home and shelter for mammals, birds, insects, and other species—and shade. Trees prevent desertification, stabilize soil, and conserve water. They control avalanches and floods. They provide essential oils, gums, resins, syrups, and vital medicines. They yield fruit, nuts, timber, paper, and fodder. Trees carry out the crucial unseen work of carbon sequestration. In one year, a typical tree inhales twelve kilograms of carbon dioxide and exhales enough oxygen for a family for a year.
A leaf of the Bodhi tree, under which Buddha obtained enlightenment
Planting a tree is something everyone can do—from school children to old people, in both rural and urban environments and in any nation. To plant a tree is empowering and effective. The major strategies proposed to draw down carbon and secure a safe-climate future include reforestation of the planet on an unprecedented scale.
We should also take a lead in the protection of forests and rain-forests. Their destruction contributes greatly to climate breakdown, while their preservation cools the Earth and ensures its biodiversity. Indeed, we should be part of a global effort to plant many more trees and forests.
—Gyalwang Karmapa XVII
The Sheltering Grove of Interdependence
Flourishing trees clean the wind,
And help us breathe the sustaining air of life.
They please the eye and soothe the mind.
Their shade makes a welcome resting place.
In the Vinaya, the Buddha taught monks
To care for tender trees.
From this, we learn the virtue
Of planting and nurturing trees.
The Buddha forbade monks to cut
Or cause others to cut living plants,
To destroy seeds or defile fresh green grass.
Should not this inspire us
To love and protect our environment?
They say, in the celestial realms,
The trees emanate
The Buddha’s blessings
And echo the sound
Of basic Buddhist doctrines,
Like impermanence.
It is trees that bring rain,
Trees that hold the essence of the soil.
Kalpataru, the wish-fulfilling tree,
Manifests on Earth
To serve all purposes.
- Dalai Lama XIV
Plant a Tree (£5) or Trees in the
Sheltering Grove of Interdependence
Take Action