Perhaps you have ever done it when booking a flight: pay a little extra to compensate for your CO2 emissions? But that can also be easier. In Budel, for example, there is a real CO2 compensation forest. The forest belongs to the Van Beek family. They have now planted almost 2,000 trees so that they can continue to fly with peace of mind.
Wearing wellies, Joost van Beek walks through his forest near Budel. He points to a lime tree. “It originally belongs here, but it rarely occurs in our forests. So we planted it.”
He continues walking while pointing. “This tree is doing very well. The other one had a branch broken off, but that is nature. There is still a piece of branch left, so that tree will work again.”
The idea for our own forest arose on a family day of the Van Beek family. Joost comes from a family of sixteen children, who have traveled all over the world. “On that family day I asked if they ever pressed the compensation button at KLM when they booked a flight. The answer was no. I didn’t do that myself either. They said they didn’t trust it. KLM plants those trees in other countries, far away “Sometimes it concerns rented land. Who can guarantee that those trees will still be there in a few centuries?”
“This forest was scheduled to be cut down”
And what if we start planting trees in our own forest?, Joost asked. The family members were interested in this and were happy to donate.
There was a special founding was founded and a forest was purchased near Budel. “This forest was scheduled to be cut down. So we prevented that. All those old trees still absorb CO2. And we have planted hundreds of young trees.”
Joost bends down and points to another small tree. “Here you have to be careful that the deer don’t eat the buds. Many young shoots are in tubes for protection. Look, that other tree is already so high that the deer can no longer reach it. And do you see the buds on this maple?”
A forest manager plants the trees and does the maintenance. The empty spaces in the first forest are already largely full. So an agricultural field on the other side of the ditch was purchased. There is still room for a few thousand trees.
“Not flying is not an option if your entire family lives far away”
In the long term, the family aims to have 20 hectares of land. Four other large families have now also joined. So space is needed for that. Because to offset CO2 you have to plant one tree for every 2000 kilometers of flying.
Joost’s next flight has already been booked. It concerns a ticket to Australia, more than a day’s flight. “That will be five to six trees that I have to pay for. But I do that with great pleasure when I know that I can enjoy this forest in the Netherlands. And this forest will always remain.”
Joost admits that he indirectly buys off his guilt. “But not flying is not an option if your entire family lives far away. You still want to see your children and grandchildren every now and then. As far as I’m concerned, flying is just part of it, but we ensure that it is sustainable.”
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