Land Webinar | The Science & Practice of Ecosia's Journey to Grow 250 Million Trees
the chairs
How did a search engine plant 250 million trees? Join us to discover how online searches translate into real-world impact, and how we’re not just planting and growing trees, but ensuring the long-term success and sustainability of our restoration projects.
To celebrate the 250 million trees milestone, Ecosia is hosting an online Restoration Seminar in collaboration with the journal Land.
This seminar will explore the science and real-world practices behind Ecosia’s global reforestation and restoration mission, featuring case studies from leading restoration experts across the world.
We will feature real-world on the ground example of how our partners are working to plant trees to create forest corridors and expand animal habitats, how finance and investment can integrate more trees into business models, how a brigade of firefighters is protecting millions of trees, how an invasive species is creating a business model for forest restoration and much more.
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Session 1: Emerging Opportunities in Global Biodiversity
Chair Dr. Paul Smith (Botanical Gardens Conservation International)
Session 2: Leveraging Finance for Real-World Impact in Forest Restoration
Chair Judith Ngonyo (Grounded Investment Company)
Session 3: Community Engagement as a Driver of Restoration Success
Chair Quinter Peres (The Center for Ecosystem Restoration Kenya)
Session 4: Tracking Restoration Progress Through Monitoring and Follow-Up
Chair Alexander Watson (OpenForests / Explorer.land)
Session 5: Innovative Approaches to Regrow Forests
Chair Dr. Karen Holl (UC Santa Cruz / Holl Restoration Lab)
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Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Ecosia is the world’s largest not-for-profit search engine. It has planted 250 million trees across over 35 countries worldwide. In 2014, Ecosia was accredited as a B Corporation, and in 2017, it built the first of its four solar plants to ensure that it is 100% renewable. In 2018, Ecosia gave away its shares to the Purpose Foundation to ensure that they can never be sold and that no one, including the founder, can profit or receive dividends from the company. Ecosia was founded by Christian Kroll in 2009.
Date: 22 April 2026
Time: 2:00 pm (CEST) | 8:00 am (EDT)
Webinar ID: 827 6968 4049
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Meet the Event Chairs
Meet Our Speakers
Mr. Willie Shubert
Mongabay, USA;
Vice President of Programs & Executive Editor at Mongabay.
9th Land Webinar
The Science & Practice of Ecosia's Journey to Grow 250 Million Trees
In this section, you will find the recordings of this webinar to watch, re-watch and share with your colleagues!Key Takeaways of the Webinar:
- Long-term reforestation efforts must prioritize biodiversity gains and community-centric designs, supported by a robust framework for long-term monitoring;
- By utilizing innovative investment structures, we can accelerate reforestation efforts while delivering competitive financial returns;
- Prioritizing natural regeneration (with varying degrees of intervention) is not only cost-effective but usually leads to a much stronger, more resilient forest in the long run;
- Everyday actions, such as searching online, can result in concrete actions on the ground, with 250 million additional trees now growing!
Land, Biodiversity, and Human Wellbeing
Section Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Sean Sloan