Plant-for-the-Planet Ghana

Plant-for-Ghana

Empowering restoration in the heart of Africa

Plant trees

Plant trees & support the community

Plant-for-the-Planet Ghana

Plant-for-Ghana

Empowering restoration in the heart of Africa

Plant trees

Plant trees & support the community

67,612

Trees planted since 2021

Native species planted

60,000

Seedlings growing for the upcoming planting season

Families benefiting from green job creation each season

Ghana’s Wooded Savannah is in Danger

Not quite a rainforest. Not quite a savannah. Most of Ghana has always been covered by a crucial transition zone ecosystems. But recently, these forests have been severely degrading due to both natural and human-caused stress.

Due to the impacts of the climate crisis, dry seasons in Ghana are affected by increasingly strong droughts, making the ecosystem more fragile to the rising risk of wildfires.

Our Integrated Approach

Restoring a diverse forest

Only a rich woody savannah can guard the line between rainforests and grasslands.

14 tree species

Community-led
agroforestry belts

Trees have always been crucial for the locals, who gain sustainable benefits from cashew, shea or mango.

25 - 100kg

expected annual produce

Greener, better and reliable jobs

The Banpewa community is eager to take the restoration of their land into their own hands.

(that’s Y % of the community’s households!)

71 People

employed

Meet the Banpewa Community

The heart of our 1000 ha-sized project is the land of the Banpewa community, a village of around 600 people. Their elders remember a forest full of life: with a dense tree cover hiding antelopes, monkeys, leopards or even crocodiles, all of which are now gone. So, the community set the ambitious target to restore their land into a prosperous original ecosystem, supporting livelihoods and the planet.

Our mission is to restore ecosystems and fight the climate crisis in the heart of Ghana, my home. I grew up in the midst of disappearing nature, and it inspired me to create change — then I founded the Plant-for-Ghana project.

Mohammed Rabiu Dannakabu

Founder and executive director
of Plant-for-Ghana

I love this job because, as a woman, I am proving to them that a man’s job can be done by a woman. Anything a man can do, if a woman wants to, she can do as well.

Edith Addo

Nursery employee

Trees are life. I don’t think we can survive without them. We want and need to restore forests more significantly for the planet and for Ghana.

Charles Bakunmini Nminlanna

Planting Site Worker

It was incredible to see the commitment of Mohammed and the Banpewa community involved and to realize first-hand the project’s potential for the region.

Šimon Michalčík

Executive Director and
Founder of Plant-for-the-Planet Czechia

I am a big believer in community-led projects, especially regarding ecosystem restoration. Just as the climate crisis is a multiplier of crises, women can be a multiplier of solutions.

Tamara Cibulkova

Website Manager and Content Creator

This transition zone is critical to the fight against desertification and represents a vulnerable ecosystem. These forests effectively absorb CO2, which helps in climate regulation.

Peter Borchardt

Scientific Advisor

Mohammed Rabiu Dannakabu

Founder and executive director of Plant-for-Ghana

I love this job because, as a woman, I am proving to them that a man’s job can be done by a woman. Anything a man can do, if a woman wants to, she can do as well.

Edith Addo

Nursery employee

Trees are life. I don’t think we can survive without them. We want and need to restore forests more significantly for the planet and for Ghana.

Charles Bakunmini Nminlanna

Planting Site Worker

It was incredible to see the commitment of Mohammed and the Banpewa community involved and to realize first-hand the project’s potential for the region.

Šimon Michalčík

Executive Director and Founder of Plant-for-the-Planet Czechia

I am a big believer in community-led projects, especially regarding ecosystem restoration. Just as the climate crisis is a multiplier of crises, women can be a multiplier of solutions.

Tamara Cibulkova

Website Manager and Content Creator

This transition zone is critical to the fight against desertification and represents a vulnerable ecosystem. These forests effectively absorb CO2, which helps in climate regulation.

Peter Borchardt

Scientific Advisor

Community Welfare

By far, water has been the #1 long-term challenge for the Banpewa community. Walking long distances to get dirty water meant that women could not participate in forest restoration. That’s why we built a solar-powered borehole, which will provide clean water for the community all-year round – even in dry seasons!

Ambulance community Service by Plant for the Planet

When emergencies happen, a rural community needs a quick and safe way to get to a far-away hospital. Together with the elders, we identified a tricycle ambulance as the best solution, and delivered!

Restoring an ecosystem takes a while, but from the very start, it can provide sustainable opportunities for economic empowerment: our entirely women-run bee-keeping site is a proof of that, currently benefitting 30 women.

Women groups are the key change-makers of our project. Forming 100% of the nursery staff, they will also be the ones to benefit from grown trees of cashew, shea and mango, starting small businesses at local markets.

“No one wants to cut down the trees to charcoal. That’s why we’re putting an end to it. We will do whatever it takes to restore our land to how we remember it. The future of our people depends on it.”

– Chief of Banpewa

Donate Now

Your donation helps us expand our global network, train young Climate Justice Ambassadors, and plant more trees. Every bit counts, bringing us closer to our goals. Thank you!

Donate

14 tree species

What are we planting?

Plant-for-Ghana is currently restoring 1,000 hectares of degraded forest. This encompasses planting a mixture of native tree species as their high diversity ensures that the growing forest is resilient to ongoing threats. The combination with agroforestry species also contributes to the economic empowerment of local communities.

Anacardium occidentale (Cashew)
Mangifera indica (Mango)
Kyaya ivorensis (Mahogany)
Parkia biglobosa (Africa locust)
Afzelia africana (Papao)
Senna siamea (Cassie)
Adansomia digitata (Baobab)
Triplochiton scleroxylon (Wawa)

Ceiba pentandra (Onyina)
Daniellia oliveri (Senya)
Vitellaria paradoxa (Shea)
Blighia sapida (Akyee)
Anogeisus leiocarpus (Osakanee)
Faidherbia albida
Terminalia ivorensis (Emire)

Trees planted

In total, we planted 15,280 trees over the course of 9 planting days, thanks to the active support of the local community. Of course, the work of growing the seedlings in the nursery and caring for the trees after planting carries on throughout the rest of the year.

Watch our Progress

Planting sites are registered daily with TreeMapper, a free forest monitoring app we built.

Annual Reports

Project Report 2023

Project Report 2022

Project Report 2021

Restoration Incidents

Managing environmental incidents, like flooding and fires are an important part of our work. In the interest of transparency, we are logging all such incidents.

Restoration Incidents