Forests cover about 31 percent of the Earth's land, and more than 80 percent of land species are found there. They play a crucial role on this planet by multitasking in terms of absorbing CO2, recycling water, and providing shelter to millions of animals. Despite their importance to this planet, forests are becoming victims of deforestation, which is the action of clearing out huge areas of trees due to logging and urban development.
An example is the Vlogging4Forests campaign, which was created by the United Nations Environment Programme. This project invited the youth to make videos regarding why forests matter in this world and what people can do to save them. For example, a student from Nigeria, Oluwaseun Adekugbe, explained that videos reach people faster than reading a bunch of facts because videos portray stories (United Nations Environment Programme, 2019). Another participant, Trang Le from Vietnam, said that indigenous groups help people understand why forests need to be saved.
Young people are not only speaking and sharing about forests online; they are also going out and planting trees by trying to fix damaged land by humans. For example, the Food and Agriculture Organization started a program where the youth in multiple countries, like Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Peru, learned how to take care of forests. In 2025, they worked with over ten thousand residents and planted more than 150,000 trees to help restore areas that had been cut down (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2025).
Additionally, a young person named Grace Kimary, who is from Kenya, focused on teaching people multiple ways of farming and using technology to track changes in forests so they can be protected. Indigenous people are also doing a lot to protect their forests by launching projects regarding forest protection. For instance, Dierson Piris Isasi from Paraguay started a project called Reforestación y Educación Ambiental. He planted native trees and ran workshops to explain how forests help with clean air, water, and cultural traditions (Cultural Survival, 2025a).
Similarly, many young people start multiple projects where they combine their ancestral ways with modern-day treatment to fix damaged forests. For example, some communities practice burning to clear out dry leaves and prevent larger wildfires that harm forests. It is a technique that has been passed down through generations. Another example of an ancestral way is the usage of chemical-free fertilizers to help trees grow without the use of man-made chemicals, which damage the soil.