Climate change has us firmly in its grip and is making things increasingly difficult for our native forests. That’s why we want to help and have launched a project to support forests in Germany.

In 2021, we put out feelers and reached out in search of a damaged area of forest that we could take care of. And there it was! After a long search, many conversations, and numerous appeals, we found it: our future wijld forest. Covering more than 81,000 m², this still rather barren woodland in the Sauerland near Marsberg is waiting to be planted and restored!

And this is where you come in, because this passion project can only be achieved together, and with every order on wijld.com, you help protect a little piece of forest along the way. Each order contributes to exactly 0.6 m² of forest that we will reforest and maintain in order to create a healthy forest one day. This task will not be easy and is quite an undertaking. Creating a healthy ecosystem requires a great deal of planning, time, and patience. For an area of 8.1 hectares, we are currently expecting to plant around 10,500 trees. However, the number may vary slightly depending on how many large and small tree species we need for a well-balanced mixed forest. Before each planting, we also need to carefully assess which primary and secondary tree species are suitable for the site and will provide the greatest long-term benefits for nature and the environment.

But just imagining that our forest, once it has grown large and strong, will be able to bind up to 81 tonnes of CO² every year fills us with joy and motivation to get planting!

It is especially important to us that everyone can actively lend a hand and experience the progress of our reforestation and restoration efforts. That is why we want to enable anyone interested—as well as school classes and forestry students—to accompany Waldemar during its creation and help shape our project.

However, our forest in the Sauerland is only the first of many more forests we want to protect. Our long-term goal is to save as many forest areas as possible that have been affected by the climate crisis and destroyed by environmental damage. This is also what inspired our idea of speeding up our work through forest sponsorships and together with you—not only protecting the first 8.1 hectares of forest for the future, but also acquiring and restoring additional areas as quickly as possible. After all, together we can always achieve more.

Did you know that the term “sustainability” originated in forestry? As a result of increasing timber shortages across regions, modern forestry emerged in the early 18th century and replaced the uncontrolled exploitation of forests that had prevailed until then. The basic idea of sustainable forestry can therefore be summed up as follows: only as much wood should be used as can naturally grow back. Sustainable forestry also ensures that newly planted trees do not form monocultures, which are more susceptible to pests, harm the soil, and deprive animals of their habitat.

But how can we plant trees while also using wood for, say, clothing? What may not seem to add up at first makes much more sense once you understand the background:

Processing trees is, in fact, both right and important. At their peak, trees produce oxygen, provide habitats, and absorb CO₂. With trees from sustainable forestry, the main goal is to make optimal use of the CO₂ stored in them, which is why they are only felled after many years. If this did not happen, many of them would die due to a lack of light or fungal infestation, among other causes, rot, and release the stored carbon back into the air. The felled trees therefore serve as long-term CO₂ storage while also being perfectly suited for use as an environmentally friendly material in a wide range of areas.