APOPO HeroTREEs - a Climate-Smart Solution

Growing HeroTREEs Around the World

Hello, thank you for supporting our HeroTREEs program at APOPO! Your support plays a proactive role in safeguarding our climate and planet, and in this update, we are excited to share how HeroTREEs is expanding to support even more people and ecosystems around the world.

As you know, APOPO initially began planting trees to offset its own carbon emissions, and in partnership with Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT), we established the first HeroTREEs project. This project, which you have been supporting, has allowed us to train farmers in the Uluguru Mountains in sustainable, organic agroecological practices, helping to protect the environment and safeguard the futures of local communities by improving soil and water quality, strengthening food security, reducing poverty, and preserving biodiversity.

Since then, our HeroTREEs program has grown and embraced Syntropic Agroforestry as one of the most effective ways to cultivate healthy and productive farming systems. Through practical training on demonstration plots at Sokoine University of Agriculture, HeroTREEs both practices and promotes this innovative approach. By collecting field data, the program measures economic and environmental impacts, generating insights valuable to farmers, researchers, and policymakers alike.

The growth of our HeroTREEs program has also seen us partner with organizations rooted in farming communities around the world to establish demonstration agroforestry plots, providing hands-on training and support in areas where APOPO already operates. These plots help local farmers gain expertise and develop their own agroforests, with continued guidance to support long-term growth and scaling.

Your support has also allowed us to begin implementing GIS tracking and FarmTree software to monitor activities and model long-term impact.

From Minefields to Sustainable Farms

Wherever we work, our HeroTREEs projects help restore ecosystems and support communities through syntropic agroforestry, reforestation, and climate-smart farming. From revitalizing former minefields to training farmers in regenerative agriculture and food forest development, our initiatives boost biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and sustainable livelihoods.

For example, launched in Preah Vihear, Cambodia, our “Minefields to Rice fields” project converts former minefields into sustainable, high-value organic rice farms. This initiative has empowered 45 farming families and aims to increase their income by more than 30% within two years.

Funded by the UK Government through a Development Impact Bond (DIB), the project ensures rigorous impact measurement, with APOPO receiving payments based on its outcomes. A real-time data monitoring system tracks progress, providing a scalable model for future expansion. As more minefields are cleared, the project will continue extending its reach, revitalizing landscapes and creating lasting economic opportunities.

Continued Protection of the Uluguru Mountains

Of course, your support continues to help safeguard one of Africa’s most important ecosystems: the Ulugurus in the Eastern Arc Mountains.

Thanks to you, APOPO, in collaboration with Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT), has planted 60,920 trees across 71 species in the Uluguru Mountains in Morogoro as part of the HeroTREEs initiative.

Today, 36,945 trees are thriving, and 160 farmers have been trained, equipping them with sustainable agroforestry skills. To enhance accountability and long-term impact, we co-developed an innovative self-monitoring system in which farmers track one another’s activities and receive financial compensation to offset opportunity costs, helping ensure continued commitment to reforestation and ecosystem restoration.

None of this would be possible without your support. Thank you for helping protect the climate in such an important ecosystem as the Uluguru Mountains, and for allowing us to expand the global reach and impact of the HeroTREEs program.

Investing in our planet is an investment we cannot afford to neglect, and we truly appreciate your continued support.

Links:

• HeroTREEs Website

Hello and welcome to your first HeroTREEs project update for 2026!

We’re excited to share what your support helped achieve throughout 2025 and how it’s shaping the year ahead. 

Your support has helped establish the following tree nurseries 

• Ruvuma village (Hifadhi Mazingira group’s nursery) 
• Tulo village (Changamoto Forest group’snursery) 
• Choma village (Mshikamano group’s nursery)
• Kibundi (Hapa Kazi Tu group’s nursery) 
• Kihamira (Kihamira group’s nursery) 
• Mkoya village (Mkoya group) 

New trees existing in these nurseries include:

Cinnamon, Grlicidia, Mangos, Cloves, coffee, Grevillea, Cedrella, Khaya, Anthotheca, Milicia excelsa (mihangala), Prunus Africana/African cherry (Misambwa), African teak (mikongo), Mangifera Indica/Mango tree (Komamanga), Citrus, avocado, and Broad-leaved croton (kivumba).

Some exciting numbers for you to consider your impact in the last quarter of the last year:

The total number of new trees planted during the last quarter of 2025: 4,760

Total number of trees existing in all nurseries till now: 24,000

Total number of tube planters with planted seeds: 2,500

Of course, we have continued to monitor villages to assess the farms and evaluate survival rates, growth performance, and overall tree health across all the farms we work with in the Uluguru Mountains.

Upcoming

Nursery preparation activities have intensified in anticipation of the 2026 planting season. Farmers prepared tube planters for seedlings, improved nursery shading and drainage, and established clean, well-managed seedbeds to reduce pests and disease. Emphasis was placed on drought-tolerant and high-survival species to improve future planting outcomes. 

We are also delighted to welcome the newly formed Mkoya farmer group, which has now received technical support to establish its first tree nursery! We conducted training which covered site selection, soil preparation, potting techniques, watering schedules and nursery management. This activity strengthened local capacity and ensured Mkoya’s full integration into project activities for the future.

How Your Support Helps

In a small mountain village in Tanzania, Devota and her family farm just one acre of land. Through APOPO’s Syntropic Agroforestry training, she has learned new ways to care for her soil, plant trees, and diversify her crops.

“Before, we farmed without realizing how much soil we were losing. Now we mulch, keep moisture in the soil, and grow avocado, coffee, cocoa, timber, and spices. My goal is to feed my family and earn income. I also share what I’ve learned with others in the community.”

Read Devota's story.

Throughout 2026, we will continue expanding tree certification to two more villages, keep the tree database up to date to monitor progress, and hold community feedback and strategic review meetings with farmers.

None of this would be possible without your generous support, so thank you once again for your continued commitment to APOPO’s HeroTREEs and our planet.

Links:

• HeroTREEs website