Protect Our Lungs — Trees Breathe
The Amazon is breathing through a crisis. As COP30 unfolds in the heart of the rainforest, we’re reminded that trees are doing everything they can to keep our air, land, and water clean — even as human-driven deforestation accelerates across the world. Entire ecosystems and indigenous communities are being pushed to the edge as forests are cleared for logging, agriculture, and mining. When trees fall, we lose far more than shade or beauty — we lose biodiversity, cultural heritage, climate stability, and the very lungs that help our planet breathe.
Trees Breathe invites you to reconnect with the living systems that sustain life and understand why protecting forests has never mattered more. Through this story, you’ll learn why trees are essential for climate regulation, how deforestation threatens our collective future, and how simple actions — from planting native trees to supporting forest defenders — can create real impact. Because when we choose to protect the forests that protect us, we honor the truth at the heart of this movement: When trees breathe, we breathe.
Video: Beautiful Aerial Photography Music – Amazing Drone Footage – Majestic Moments Boark Sounds (2017), Arkbo Music Publishing; Stunning Fall Colors: Soaring in the Treetops – Must-See Drone Footage 4K (2019), Timeless Aerial Photography LLC; Satellite Shows Extent of Terrible Destruction to the Planet from Earth From Space, Season 1, Episode 4 “Changing Planet” (2019), BBC News; The Tallest Trees on Earth (2017), ProArt Inc. Music: Ave Maria (1825) — Written by Franz Schubert; Performed by Barbara Bonney; Label: WMG – Warner Music Group / UNIÃO BRASILEIRA. Image Credits: NASA – James Webb Space Telescope.
UN SDG Connection
Join the movement to protect forests and restore our planet’s balance.
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Discover the science behind why the world needs a trillion more trees to stop climate change.
The Rainforest Trust, a US-Based nonprofit focused on the purchase and protection of tropical lands since 1988 explains how trees are the lungs of the planet.
See the accelerated destruction of the Amazon rainforest from space mapped by scientists from NASA’s Earth observatory.
Gisele Bundchen works with National Geographic and an expert Brazilian climatologist to answer What is the connection between the Amazon rainforest deforestation and climate?
Learn how trees may be the #1 climate solution in 90 seconds from the 8 Billion Trees project that fights the climate crisis through forestry and carbon offset projects.
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Eating one-fifth less beef could halve deforestation, Nature says.
Join the 8 Billion Trees project and calculate your own carbon footprint then use their guide to reduce emissions and erase your footprint.
Arbor Day Foundation, which has already helped plant +350 million trees, published advice on how planting the right trees in your yard and community fights climate change.
Do you love birds? This Audubon Society guide will help you turn your yard into a bird oasis and a carbon sponge.
Buy products certified from the Rainforest Alliance. Their little green frog seal is a symbol of environmental, social, and economic sustainability and can be found on products globally.
Take part in Seas & Trees – an annual worldwide event that celebrates the vital link between ocean and forest conservation.
Plant trees while you search the web with the Ecosia Browser.
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Join The Nature Conservancy in their campaign to plant a billion trees around the world. Find local projects near you to volunteer.
Become a Tree Ambassador with One Tree Planted. Find tree planting projects globally you can join.
Learn about the many Tree Cities of the World and find out how you can transform your city. Join this expanding program sponsored but the United Nations and the Arbor Day Foundation.
Inspire your community to celebrate Earth Day April 22, 2022. Start now with 51 things all of us can do to restore our earth.
Add your voice to Amazon Watch. For 25 years, this international group has been saving the Amazon rainforest by increasing awareness and lobbying governments.
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Want to be a problem-solver for the planet? Apply to become part of Captain Planet Foundation’s new Youth Advisory Committee and lend your ideas, expertise and leadership.
Join thousands of other young people worldwide in the Plant-for-the-Planet initiative. Check out their latest global projects, motivate others to get involved, or start a tree planting competition!
Become a Rainforest Ambassador and help the Rainforest Trust protect endangered tropical forests and threatened species.
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Researchers are developing a Tropical Rainforests Vulnerability Index, which can help prioritize how and where to spend resources to stop deforestation.
CNN reports how Opera singers are teaching long-term COVID-19 patients to breathe again, which may restore lung strength from damage caused by COVID or other environmental toxins.
Industrial forces cut down trees at a pace of a football field every six seconds, but the Forest Act hopes to change that.
The Independent reports Indigenous leadership key to curbing deforestation and deforestation rates are lower in land controlled by indigenous peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The global response to the Covid-19 pandemic has driven the biggest annual fall in CO2 emissions since World War II according to research reported by BBC News.
The Equator Awards honors the world’s indigenous peoples’ efforts, innovation and vision to save their ancestral habitats.
See superstar and environmental activist Barbra Streisand’s powerful message to protect indigenous guardians and the Amazon rainforest.
Learn how EARTHDAY.ORG’s Canopy Project is successfully strengthening communities and planting trees around the globe.
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Beef and soy production for animal feed are driving more than two-thirds of the recorded habitat loss in Brazil’s Amazon and Cerrado regions and Argentina and Paraguay’s Gran Chaco region.
Investigation exposes how Brazil’s huge beef sector continues to threaten health of world’s largest rainforest, the Guardian reports.
80 large fires have consumed more than 1 million acres across western parts of the US. CNN News reports on the unprecedented fire season so far in 2021.
Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon surges to 12-year high. BBC News reports on last year’s surge in destruction fueled by aggressive expansion of logging, mining and agriculture.
NPR reports on Amazon Rainforest Carbon Dioxide Crisis, a new study which discovered regions of the eastern Amazon now output more carbon dioxide than they absorb.
Amazon Watch covers recent activism from indigenous groups in Brazil: “The Struggle of Indigenous Peoples Is a Struggle for the Future of Humanity.”
Amazon Rainforest to reach ‘tipping point before 2064’ and 25% will be destroyed according to new study reported by British Today News
A year after Australia’s wildfires, extinction threatens hundreds of species, Science News reports.
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The Captain Planet Foundation empowers young people to find solutions to climate change. through hands-on learning at home and in the classroom.
The Arbor Society’s educational tree program helps US schools create their own Tree Campus.The Rainforest Trust offers rainforest-themed lesson plans for K-12 covering topics such as the global benefits of biodiversity and the connection between rainforest and climate change.
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Amazon ecologist and conservation expert, Mark J. Plotkin, offers an engaging overview of this irreplaceable ecosystem in “The Amazon: What Everyone Needs to Know.”
“Trees in Trouble” by Daniel Mathews explores the devastating and compounding effects of climate change in the Western and Rocky Mountain states, told through in–depth reportage.
“Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest” by Suzanne Simard, invites people to reconsider their connection and relationship to trees.
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“The Sequoia Lives On” for ages 4-8, this book shares the life story of the giant sequoia and invites children to become the next generation of protectors for this amazing tree.
“The Magic and Mystery of Trees” takes children on a captivating journey of nature packed with leafy exploration, showing them just how special these mighty organisms are.
“Hello, World! Rainforest Animals” invites toddlers into the magical world of a rainforest—with easy-to-understand facts about the incredible animals who make their home there.
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“Rebuilding Paradise” (2020) follows the tragedy and reconstruction of Paradise, California, following the 2018 California wildfires – the deadliest U.S. fire in 100 years.
“Guardians of the Amazon” (2020) shows how the Amazon rainforest faces a crucial tipping point amidst the increase of illegal logging activities.
“Green Death of The Forests” (2012) reveals the causes and consequences of deforestation in Indonesia and captures the tranquility and calm of wild nature.
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From the Amazon to Australia to California, Good Fire Podcast shares stories of indigenous fire stewardship, cultural empowerment and environmental integrity.
Ecologist and a geographer, Jean-François Bastin, explores the efforts to rebuild ecosystems and reduce carbon emissions in her TED Talk, “What if there were 1 trillion more trees?”
“The Plant a Trillion Trees Podcast”, hosted by certified arborists, encourages tree planting and proper tree care for urban forests includes neighborhoods, parks, and other open spaces.
