The years of 2020 and 2021 have stopped most of us in our tracks. In between lockdowns, wearing masks and homeschooling our children (eek!), it’s been hard to think about much else. Yet one of the most critical issues that all of us should be thinking about is climate change. And moreso, what small role we can play in reducing our individual impact on the planet.

The recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), summarised well by The Guardian, provides for some pretty bleak reading. Not only are we, as humans, responsible for the warming of the world, but we are already seeing its impact in our very own backyards. 

Bstore HQ is in Perth where it has rained pretty much every day for a month, making it the wettest July in 26 years. And it’s still raining! No kidding, we have been wearing our Bogs day in and day out (including in the office, but that’s a story for another time). 

(Image courtesy of The West Australian)

And who could forget the absolutely catastrophic fires on the East Coast of Australia in 2019 / 2020, as well as those more recently in WA. The devastation caused to homes, families and the wildlife has been crippling and so tragic to watch unfold.

And while all of us would probably admit that these events are due to climate change and global warming, the IPCC report confirms it.

So, what can we do? We can’t individually control the rising temperature of the planet, but we can do small things which cumulatively can make a big difference. At Bstore, our environmental contribution is to plant trees.

Did you know that one mature tree can absorb approximately 22 kilograms of carbon dioxide each year, exchanging it for oxygen that we can all breathe. At scale, 1.3 million trees will remove 2,500 tonnes of pollutants from the atmosphere. Losing trees due to fires and deforestation makes planting trees even more important.

Bstore, in partnership with the Carbon Farming Foundation, have planted 30,000 trees in Canna, regional WA as part of our 1-for-1 Tree Project. We will also be planting trees in NSW and Victorian fire impacted regions later in the year, with our goal for this year of planting 100,000 trees.  

You can help! For every pair of shoes you buy we will plant one tree. Easy. And fun!

You can also donate directly to our friends at One Tree Planted. If you own land, you could reach out to the Carbon Farming Foundation who are working with landowners and farmers to establish carbon farming projects on their land. Or you can volunteer with Trillion Trees and get your hands dirty planting some trees with your families.

Plant trees, friends! Let’s do our bit for the planet.

Bstore x