Drones are really starting to prove their worth—beyond just taking cool videos up in the air. Last September, drones were used to drop seeds across abandoned fields in Myanmar where industry or farming once took place. Just a half a year later, tiny mangrove saplings around 20 inches tall are sprouting out of the ground, providing early proof that drones could help restore forests at the pace needed to fight climate change.
The startup behind the project goes by the name BioCarbon Engineering, and they’ve been using drones to plant trees and grasses at abandoned mines in Australia and on sites in other parts of the world. Together with a nonprofit called Worldview Impact in Myanmar, the startup is aiming to restore roughly 350,000 hectares of coastal forest—an area nearly as large as Rhode Island. With about 5,000 trees able to grow in a hectare, that works out to more than a billion trees. Obviously, this is a tall task, but with the help of drones, the nonprofit thinks it will be possible.
Along with restoring coastal forests, BioCarbon Engineering also sees the project has an opportunity to help people in the community to get higher-paid, more technical jobs. One way they’re doing this is by teaching locals how to pilot drones and collect data in the surrounding area. Bravo!
