TREES FOR HOPE
  • About Trees for Hope
  • Who We Are
  • Rewilding
  • Atlantic Rainforest
  • Tree Planting
  • Contact
  • About Trees for Hope
  • Who We Are
  • Rewilding
  • Atlantic Rainforest
  • Tree Planting
  • Contact
Search

Trees for Hope
Rewilding the Fertile Crescent

Trunks of anjili or ironwood tree (Parrotia persica) in spring, 430 metres, Golband Forest, Mazandaran, Iran.  Photograph by Alan Watson Featherstone

Welcome to Trees for Hope's website.  Here you can find information about us, our purposes, who we are, how we work, what we have done, and our upcoming projects. We hope to inspire you to roll up your sleeves and join us in some of our activities.  Repairing our damaged planet is the common task for humanity in the 21st century.  Each one of us could contribute, in our own ways to this planetary necessity.  Here at Trees for Hope, our focus is on healing the damaged land and seascapes in the Wider Fertile Crescent with local individuals and communities. We envision and encourage the engagement of global participants and communities in our activities.  We provide education, training, support, to weave a network to rewild and repair damaged ecosystems in a part of the world that once was known as the cradle of civilisation.


Our Vision            
The Wider Fertile Crescent area is restored to full ecological health with all the native constituent species and people living in harmony and balance with the land.

We envision a transformation from barren, brown landscapes to lush green ecosystems with rich fertile soil and abundant water. Based on a deep personal connection with and care for the land and formed by mastery of arts and crafts, bioregional networks of ecovillages and communities are self sufficient with regenerative agriculture, sustainable energy, transport, and circular economies.

We collaborate with the larger planetary networks of organisations and civil societies while soulful medicine, education, and culture feeds various needs within the network.
    

                    
Our Mission
*Trees for Hope assists in the emergence of a bioregional network of ecovillages and communities engaged in rewilding themselves and their local ecosystems in the Wider Fertile Crescent area.  
 
                

* This is achieved by shared positive and practical ecological restoration work, drawing on local knowledge and wisdom.  
 
            

*We aid in removing the illusory barriers of separation, so a path is being revealed for the regeneration of the area and the restoration of its natural fertility. 
      

*We offer practical work to rejuvenate the land, accessing the experience of the existing networks of ecovillages and rewilding projects, which provides creative opportunities for healing the self, the history and cultural divides. 
​

*We create a bridge between the Wider Fertile Crescent and the rest of the world to allow for a healing exchange enabling our human potentials of love, peace and hope to be manifested.


Our History
  • February 2023, preparations underway to carry out our first practical week of Community and Rainforest Engagement Week (CREW) in April in the West Coast of Scotland.
  • November 2022, online fund and awareness raising event about Trees for Hope. [events page link]
  • April- May 2021, beginning investigation on rewilding the Atlantic Rainforest in the West Coast of Scotland and seeking out connective relations, in terms of training and education with the local communities and people from the Fertile Crescent
  • 2020 - 2021 Soil, Soul, Social Alchemy workshops were held online. 1st hive formed. More 'earth healers' joined the network.
  • November 2019 Soil and Soul Alchemy Workshops were taught in Central Iran. 
  • March 2019 one month long course, Ecovillage Design Education was taught in Auroville, Tamil Nadu, India.  First 'earth healers' for our network declared their projects.
  • December 2017 the first Soil Alchemy project started in Darabkola in Northern Iran.
  • November  2017 we taught the first Ecovillage Design Education (EDE), a UNESCO accredited course in Iran.
  • September and October 2016 we held a series of online Earth Healing Webinars to connect with various active environmentally concerned people and organisations in the Fertile Crescent and Europe.
  • September 2016 Trees for Hope is registered as a Scottish Charity, our legal body is created.
  • April 2005, investigative journey to Iran, Pupak and Alan Watson Featherstone to seek out allies in the field of earth restoration.  Made numerous connections with environmentally concerned entities.

* The Wider Fertile Crescent is a term we made up, because we could not quite find the right expression for the geographical area covering our focus. We wanted to keep the name 'Fertile Crescent' for the promise of fertility and feminine correlation to the crescent moon shape.  So we are keeping the name of a relatively defined geographic area, but with the 'Wider' prefix, we mean a larger area of focus.

The boundaries of the Wider Fertile Crescent are not yet defined.  We are anticipating that with the engagement of people and communities from the map below, we will gain clarity of where the boundaries of our network will be.

In other words, if you are from this region, come and join our network.  The map below shows you how you can join.
Picture
How we Work
We have evolved six branches over the years to embody our purposes.  These include :
  • Community and Rainforests Engagement Weeks (CREW) to assist in reviving the Atlantic Rainforest as a demonstrable rewilding project.  Based in Western Scotland, we carry out practical activities with local communities, and volunteers from elsewhere as well as participants from the Fertile Crescent.  These weeks create opportunities to further rewilding work and building cultural bridges between people of varied backgrounds.
  • Eco-village Living and Learning Experience (ELLE) are month-long training and designing programmes.  They are modified modules of Eco-village Design Education (EDE).  The participants on these courses design their own ecosystem recovery projects.  When they start to implement their projects, they will be invited to join the Earth Healing Network.
  • Soil, Soul, Social Alchemy Hives are both in person and online gatherings in which participants deepen their practise and activities to enliven soil by compost making, their own soul by practising an art or craft, and their aspirations by acting on their dreams or desired Earth Healing project.  Participant of the Hives also will be invited to form the Network when they have acted for their dreams.
  • Annual Earth Healing Network meeting, to increase interconnections and synchronicities between people who are engaged in ecological restoration work.
  • Visiting and supporting rewilding projects on site, with practical, educational, personal support.
  • Annual fund and awareness raising event online to report our activities of the year and raise funds for the following year's projects.

Picture
Trees for Hope is a Scottish Charity. 
Our registered number is SC047707

    To receive news and updates from us :

Submit
  • About Trees for Hope
  • Who We Are
  • Rewilding
  • Atlantic Rainforest
  • Tree Planting
  • Contact