My name is Ben Stross. I was born in England and

raised in a wealthy suburb of Manchester. As a

youngster growing up, my main dream, like so

many others of my age, was to make money, and

as much of it as possible. I found my way to

investing in renewable energy - solar panels and

biomass projects. I then worked for Sold On

Renewables, working on solar farm projects as

well as innovative energy saving devices for homes. This was an amazing learning curve where my eyes were opened to some of the solutions thatwill save our planet. There I was – little me – yet my job had earth-changing consequences and I was excited about it!

 

Being an observant Jew I care deeply about our God given planet. During this time, I was also being motivated by a local Reverend that I highly respect. His passion for helping people in need and looking after our environment, inspired me to actively help the planet and in doing so, help some of the world's poorest people. He was also instrumental in teaching me about some of the central beliefs of Pope Francis. Words like “Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to move towards what they think is good.”
 

Over the next few years, I started to see the immense danger that we, the human race, were putting ourselves in, relentlessly producing greenhouse gasses.  As I studied more on climate change, its causes and solutions, I began to notice a missing piece in the search for a real solution to global warming.  While I understood that renewable energy is absolutely necessary for reducing our global footprint and we believe everyone who can switch should, I kept coming back to the question: Is there a way to actually improve the quality of our air? I couldn't find a practical way that did. The answer was sadly, no!  

 

I continued to look for ways to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.  After much research, the only safe and practical solution I could find was the planting of trees.

 

From June 2014 my interest in trees accelerated and I began to learn more and more about the benefits of them.  They are used for medicines, food, soil protection, absorbing CO2, shade, nesting, providing oxygen, windbreaks, providing clean, natural water, preventing water pollution – the list goes on and on. The more attributes of trees I discovered, the more convinced I became that in order to improve the health of the planet and reduce global warming, What we need to do is plant trees. It's something everyone can do! 

 

I started doing some calculations.  For example, if you are from England, on average your carbon footprint is 9.7 tons per year. This can therefore, be offset by planting just 10 trees each year. If you are an average American, your carbon footprint is 17.5 tons which can be offset with just 18 trees per year. I thought, if we all do something small like planting trees and switch to green energy sources we will become carbon negative and start giving back to the planet. I believed this is something that everyone can, and must do.

 

Two months later in August 2014, I realised that there had been a gradual but serious shift in my thinking and my attitude. While my main aim at first may have been to get rich, I found my passion had moved away from money towards helping the environment.  I found that I was no longer driven by the dream of a huge bank account, but I was passionate about preserving the planet and its people. I left money making and joined Environmental Partnerships who have been dedicated to reducing global warming through planting trees in developing countries since 2005. 

 

Your 10 Trees campaign was founded in December 2014 as a means to encourage everyone to plant trees in order to offset their carbon production.

 

"Doing less harm is not enough, we also must do some good".

 

Join me in improving the health of our planet. There is power in numbers. Together we can change the world!

 

Have You Planted Your Trees yet?