Once a project has successfully passed the Validation Stage, it becomes eligible for funding on the Tree-Nation platform. At this point, the project is required to actively engage with our community by maintaining a clear and informative project page. This includes providing planting proof, basic project information, and regular updates to help sponsors understand the project's goals, activities, and planting site locations.
Activation is just the beginning. Once live on the platform, each project enters our Verification Stage, during which its activities are continuously monitored by our Environment Team. This ongoing process ensures compliance with Tree-Nation’s guidelines, contractual obligations, and mission, most importantly, confirming that the trees committed to are indeed being planted, maintained, and contributing to their intended environmental and social impacts.
Project verification strategy
Tree-Nation's verification strategy combines digital and on-the-ground assessment methods to produce a standardized Verification Quality Score (VQS) for each project. This score reflects a project's adherence to our quality benchmarks and plays a role in its visibility to sponsors on our platform. Projects must meet a minimum VQS threshold to remain active, and those with high scores receive enhanced visibility and support as a reward for excellence.
These VQS scores can be viewed in each project page with their overall score and a report, explaining in detail our assessment of the project, and published annually based on on-site verification and digital verification information.
We advocate for the affiliation of projects of all sizes and sort them into categories based on tree-planting volume, to be validated and verified according to their category’s requirements. These requirements are progressively more demanding as projects increase in scale.
Moreover, every affiliated project owner has signed our code of conduct, affirming their commitment to our environmental, social, and labor standards.
Species selection
As part of our verification process, we request detailed information about the tree species selected for each project. Should any non-native (exotic) species or species with invasive potential be included, we inquire about the rationale behind this choice and the benefits those species offer. This information allows us to assess their compatibility with the project's goals and local ecosystem.
Our evaluation ensures that only the most suitable species are incorporated into our projects, ultimately contributing to their success and environmental sustainability. Following initial assessment, we reserve the right to approve or reject the selection of non-native species based on their alignment with our project objectives and their potential impact on the ecosystem.
Verification elements
Our list of verification elements includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Project location
- Administration of the project's legal entity
- Interviews with key project personnelProject mission
- Project mission
- Project Strategy
- Project activities and planting methods
- Project Documentation
- Project planting reports
- Species selection
- Planting sites
- Legal land rights
- Tree survival rates
- Tree maintenance strategy
- Proof of planting (via geo-tagged photos)
- Environmental benefits
- Social benefits
- Voluntary greenhouse gas standard (VCS/CCB, Gold Standard, PlanVivo, REDD+), if applicable
- Cross-check with local forestry authorities
- Expert reviews
- Site visitor reviews
- Satellite remote sensing
- On-site verification
- Planting action data exchange with other reforestation organizations.
On-site visits
Regardless of size, all of our affiliates are required to host an on-site Tree-Nation verification. The frequency of these visits varies depending on volume, with larger projects requiring more frequent visits. Tree-Nation’s target is to visit each project, serving to update our platform and bring you the most up to date content from each site.
The primary objective of a Tree-Nation verification is to physically verify data that has been provided digitally by project owners. In instances where the provided data deviates from our evaluations, the project is required to rectify any discrepancies on their project website, and its VQS score is lowered in the process.
Projects are subject to Tree-Nation verification for a period of ten to twenty years, the average lifespan of a tree, to ensure that trees are allowed to reach maturity without their terrain being repurposed for other uses.