Launching on Wednesday, September 28, the campaign Meer Bomen Nu (“More Trees Now”) sees various foundations and non-profit organisations join together to give away at least 1 million free trees this winter in order to battle climate change and give biodiversity in the Netherlands a bit of a boost.

Campaign to plant 1 million trees in the Netherlands this winter

By joining forces, the MEERGroen Foundation, Caring Farmers and Urgenda hope to encourage people living in the Netherlands to do what they can to help their local environment. “The ecological crisis we are living in requires urgent, large-scale and concerted action,” the Meer Bomen Nu website reads. “We see planting trees as the ideal solution for slowing down climate change, restoring biodiversity and offering citizens a positive perspective for action.”

The Meer Bomen Nu initiative collects cutoffs from sapling shrubs and trees in national parks and nature reserves across the country, so they can be replanted in other areas. While the system isn’t new, the next phase of the process is designed to work on a huge scale, encouraging members of the general public to get involved by planting trees in their local area or in their gardens.

How to get involved in the Meer Bomen Nu campaign

The campaign has been designed so that everyone can get involved - whether you work at a school or a municipality and want to add some greenery to your communal areas, like the idea of a new tree in your back garden, or work as a gardener and are looking for new and innovative ways to dispose of your excess plants. 

Planting season kicked off on Wednesday. If you’re keen to get your hands on a tree, just create an account on the Meer Bomen Nu website and find out when and where collection days are taking place in your city or neighbourhood. "Anyone can create an account and see which trees can be picked up for free in their area," Hanneke van Ormondt, ecologist at Urgenda, told the AD.

From September 29, you'll also be able to get in touch with Meer Bomen Nu and donate your seedlings, cutoffs, or any plants you have that could be replanted elsewhere. Alternatively, you could work as a volunteer and get involved by helping to plant trees.