UK tech company Dendra plans to plant 500 billion trees by 2060 – using AI and drones. According to them a drone can plant two trees per second.
Dendra estimates it would take just 400 teams of two drone operators, with 10 drones per team, to plant 10 billion trees each year – and at a much lower cost than the traditional method of planting by hand.
So, how exactly does it work?
The replanting areas are first selected using a mix of satellite photos and data acquired by drones. Specialized planting drones fly through the sky carrying seedpods holding a germinated seed and nutrients.
Once in position, the drones shoot the seeds into the ground at 120 pods per minute using compressed air. When triggered by water, the seedpods penetrate the ground and begin to develop.
Dendra estimates its technology – combining speed and accuracy – would enable governments to restore forests 150 times faster than planting by hand, and up to 10 times cheaper.
Halting deforestation is essential to avoiding the worst effects of global climate change.
The destruction of forests creates almost as much greenhouse gas emissions as global road travel, and yet it continues at an alarming rate. The WWF estimates we’re losing 27 football fields of forest every minute due to deforestation.
“According to legends, the ideal time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the second best moment is now. We have this chance right now, and we must seize it.”
Reference- Dendra Website, World Economic Form story, National Geographic