Help Plant 10K Trees in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Wellkind has been hard at work restocking the trees in our native tree nursery and planting trees out in the mountains in springs of the Lake Atitlan watershed. So far with the support from GlobalGiving we have been able to plant a couple hundred fruit and wood trees by partnering with local farmers in the communities we work with. These trees provide the local indigenous people with long term access to natural resources that support their livelihoods and provide ecological benefits to the region they live in. 

We have also been able to create 1 fully functioning food forest for a local family in the community of Pajomel. This family received workshops and guidance from our team as well as all the materials they needed to create a productive food forest on their land. Our team is currently restocking our native tree nursery and we are slowly building our inventory of native trees for the coming season. We are all really excited for the 2025 planting season as we are aiming to have it be the most diverse and impactful reforestation reason we have ever had.

One tree at a time we are restoring the ecology of the region and helping local people protect their natural resources for generations to come.

Links:

• Interactive Dashboard with all Reforestation data for Wellkind

We are excited to post our first project on GlobalGiving through our partnership with the Appropriate Technology Collaborative. We're thrilled to share more about the incredible work we've accomplished this year.

Community Connections and Tree Distribution: We have established connections with three new communities around Lake Atitlan for this year's reforestation. Our team has already distributed 7,000 trees in one of these communities and plans to continue our efforts throughout the season. We have also partnered with several new local organizations donating trees to our program.

Native Tree Nursery: Our native tree nursery on WELLKIND land has produced 12,000 trees, including several rare native species that will be planted in local forests. To ensure diversity, we collect native seeds from different parts of the lake every month.

As we move forward, we're developing some exciting new initiatives:

Internship Program Development:We are developing a curriculum for internships, targeting Guatemalan university students in environmental fields and local youth leaders. The program will include hands-on work in our native tree nursery, visits to reforestation sites, field trips to permaculture sites, and more. Our goal is to nurture the environmental stewards of tomorrow.

Tree Distribution and Monitoring: We are working to distribute 30,000 trees to seven communities this year. This involves transporting trees from various nurseries and ensuring their distribution to local beneficiaries. Our team will conduct monitoring and evaluation visits to each reforestation site.

Solar Installations: We are completing solar installations by ATC in our office this week, which will provide more reliable power and allow us to allocate more funds directly to our projects.

We are incredibly grateful for your continued support, which has been pivotal in advancing our reforestation and sustainability goals. Together, we are making a lasting impact on our environment and communities.

Warm regards,

Kyle Weinstein (WellKind Program Director) & Gracie Strobel (ATC Assistant Director)

Links:

• https://www.wellkind.org/about-us