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When Dave joined agriculture
In 1970, he joined the Department of Agriculture. After working in Pittsburgh and Atlanta, he joined the Peace Corps and moved with his family to the Philippines, where he lived from 1972 to 1978. He advised farmers on agricultural practices and, according to his daughter, was particularly struck by the effects of overgrazing and deforestation on rural communities. -
How they got the idea
In the early 1970s, Dave and Grace Deppner served as volunteers in the Philippines, where they witnessed the human tragedy brought on by illegal logging and unsustainable land management systems. Working with community leaders in nearby villages, the Deppners found a way to offer hope. They revitalized degraded lands by providing farmers with tree seed, technical training, and on-site planning assistance. People responded enthusiastically, joining in to save their homes and way of life. -
When the founder got a degree
He received a master’s degree in agricultural economics in 1978 from De La Salle Araneta University in the Philippines. -
When they created the organization
After returning from their overseas assignments they continued what they had started, communicating by mail with rural community leaders, providing information, seeds, and training materials. After many years of informal operations, Trees for the Future (‘TREES’) was incorporated as a 501 (c) (3) public charity in Maryland on August 14, 1989. Over the years TREES has assisted thousands of communities in planting millions of trees in 19 countries including Ghana, which have restored life to land -
African tree project
We have tree-planting efforts in Burundi, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda. We have helped plant trees in an incredible range of environments from coastal areas to mountains, restoring soil that had been unproductive for decades or even hundreds of years. -
Building a green barrier
What if we could build a green barrier to stop encroaching cities while feeding the people that live in them? On the outskirts of Accra, the capital of Ghana, Samuel Sarpong is doing just that on his successful pineapple farm. -
Latin america project
We are planting trees in Haiti, Brazil, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In 2011, Trees for the Future’s Haiti Program delivered three critical services – tree planting, agroforestry training, and technical assistance – to local farmers in three regions of the country: the Arcadine Coast, Chaine des Chaos, and Gonaives. In Honduras, Trees for the Future planted more than a million trees in conjunction with one of our local partners. -
100 Million Trees Gala!
Come out and meet staff, friends and supporters old and new of Trees for the Future as we celebrate our 25th year! Our 501(c)3 organization was founded in 1989, and since then we’ve helped plant over 100 million trees in dozens of countries and given over 200,000 people the capacity to improve their livelihoods and land. With new staff and revitalized sense of purpose, we launch into our next phase and hope to plant 25 million trees in 2014 alone! -
Hiring – Development Associate
Date: March, 2015 Position title: Development Associate – Partners Location: Headquarters – Silver Spring, Maryland Reports to: Sr. Director of Operations TREES is currently hiring for the position of a Development Associate, who will focus on both cultivating and nurturing relationships with donor corporate partners -
Project in Asia
On the islands of the Pacific, the combination of high tides and heavy rains brings great danger to the people of the coastal plains. We are working with local groups in Indonesia and the Philippines to restore tree cover to upland areas, so the land can absorb more water during storms and reduce the likelihood of flooding and mudslides. Other projects in India aim to restore trees to both drought-stricken and flood-ridden sections.
