Searching for the perfect Christmas present for the Arsenal fan who has everything? How about getting them their very own piece of Arsenal in Africa – courtesy of our carbon offsetting project in Bore, Kenya.
The Arsenal Forest concept was conceived at the start of last season, when the club were keen to offset the emissions used in the production of the matchday programme.
We partnered with CarbonLink, a not-for-profit reforestation organisation that specialises in helping communities in Kenya through consumption replacement tree-planting.
CarbonLink calculated that we needed to plant 12,500 trees to ensure the programme was carbon neutral.
Not only will the tree-planting ultimately absorb carbon dioxide, the planting process is also hugely beneficial to the local community:
- 37 acres of deforested and degraded scrub has been cleared, fenced and protected
- The trees will provide poor subsistence farmers with a valuable sustainable timber cash crop
- The propagation, planting and management of the trees employ 60 women who use the income to provide education for their children, and also to set up separate businesses to increase their financial independence
- 120 poor farmers are being supported with employment in the establishment of the plantation
- 2 full-time jobs have been created for the forest caretakers
- The trees will also hugely help the tropical forest wildlife of the region, supporting hundreds of other species in what is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet
The scheme – we believe a first in football globally – has attracted media interest at home and abroad. Two national TV stations in Kenya have now run features on the Arsenal Forest, as has BBC Wales. The Arsenal Forest also received a Bronze Award at this year’s Football Business Awards and was shortlisted for the sustainability award at Football Leaders.
Our supporters have joined the matchday programme in growing the Arsenal Forest, purchasing trees for £1 each (minimum 25), and receiving a certificate and exact coordinates of where their trees are situated.
In all, over 19,500 trees have now been planted, with the first we planted are now close to 2 metres tall. The overall size of our forest is currently the equivalent of 11 Emirates Stadium pitches – just imagine that next time you are watching a match!
The community in southern Kenya have really embraced the Gunners. The local football team, the Bore Lions, are now kitted out in our colours and in the last month, the success of our women’s team has inspired the women of Bore to set up their first-ever female team – the Bore Lionesses, who we have also managed to kit out in Gunners gear. Our connection with the community is one the club and the people of Bore are really proud to have made.
Being part of the scheme not only helps the fight against global warming, it also supports an Arsenal-mad community.
Purchase some trees, as well as learn more about the scheme
At Arsenal, we are always encouraging our supporters to think more sustainably and we'd like to hear how you are making your matchdays more sustainable - this could be following the team in person or how you watch games at home. And if we choose your sustainable story to feature in the programme, we'll buy you 25 trees in the Arsenal Forest as reward!
Email us to let us know how you're doing your bit.
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
