The two-and-a-half-hour live benefit event “Denmark Plants Trees” was recently broadcasted on the public television channel TV2. Actors, philanthropists, sports icons, musicians, and politicians all participated in the event as it was captured from within the “Gisselfeld Klosters Skove” forest.
The event’s organizers planned to raise about 20 million Danish kroner ($2.67 million) to plant one million saplings; this equates to about 20 Danish kroner ($3) per tree. Although the event did fall slightly short of their goal, they raised enough money to plant 914,233 trees—and they are still accepting donations.
Furthermore, every 20 Danish kroner (€2.70 or $3) donated, 20 percent will be been set aside for preserving pre-existing Danish forests and protecting tropical rainforests abroad.
The telethon organizers at the Danish Society for Nature Conservation said that 600 hectares (1,482 acres) of national land has been identified for future tree-planting events.
“It’s a positive way to inspire people, showing how to make a difference, with a small act to tackle the climate crisis,” said Kim Nielsen, founder of the Growing Trees Network Foundation, which is part of the project.
“It’s the first time a charity show has focused on climate issues on TV, it’s very exciting,” he continued.
Furthermore, the Danish organization hopes the event will inspire other countries as well as media conglomerates to host similar fundraisers for fighting the climate crisis.
