TreeTime is a non-profit organisation that empowers users to capture carbon and promote biodiversity by planting native trees in New Zealand.

Via our site, you will be able to plant and protect real trees in New Zealand. Each donation will fund the planting of one native tree. TreeTime will source a seedling, and plant it with permanent legal protection.

You will also receive regular updates of regarding your tree, including photos and carbon stats.

In the legal sense, the Tree Time Foundation Limited owns the trees, so neither the tree supporter nor anyone else can come onto the land and cut it down. This is also because the trees are legally covenanted so that they cannot be felled, by TreeTime or anyone else (i.e. are permanent forests).

TreeTime strongly supports the planting of trees, whether done through the app or done privately, providing they are planted in the right environment for that particular tree species, and contribute to fighting climate change.

What TreeTime offers over private planting is;
1) Expertise – Our trees have been chosen in consultation with ecologists and foresters, and are professionally grown and maintained;
2) Planting in a country conducive to large scale forest planting and a strong rule of law (assurance your tree will be protected);
3) Economies of scale, meaning everyone can plant a robust tree through the app at a more affordable price than doing it themselves.

There are many. First, we offer proven additionality. This means that without your contribution, your tree would not be planted.

Second, TreeTime is a non-profit based on transparency. You will receive email updates about your tree, and can view photos of the planting site on our website.

Third, using economies of scale we can plant your tree and maintain it for 50 years or more without any additional contributions from you from only NZD$9. Because TreeTime takes no profit margin, the future planting price may change subject to fluctuations in underlying costs.

Fourth, New Zealand enjoys mild climate conditions, with severe weather events being a rarity. The temperature seldom rises above 30 degrees celsius/86 farenheit, and forest fires are extremely uncommon. Trees planted via the TreeTime app will have the best chance of survival as anywhere else in the world.<

Finally, our trees have been chosen in consultation with ecologists and foresters, and are professionally grown and maintained. You have the assurance that your contribution is assisting in both rapid carbon capture and promoting biodiversity.

TreeTime, like all non-profit organisations, does incur some administrative costs. We strive to keep these at a minimum and any unused amounts are carried forward in the accounts to meet future costs associated with your tree. Our founders take no remuneration, this a passion project!

Your donation will cover the costs associated with your tree, including: land cost, nursery costs, planting costs, weeding, pest control, tree maintenance etc.

TreeTime’s founders are passionate about mitigating the severe effects of climate change and limiting CO2 emissions to the greatest extent possible. We created Treetime in order to help people plant real trees easily and affordablyt! As such, the shareholders have put in place legal safeguards to ensure that no profit is ever paid out, and any surplus reinvested into tackling climate change.

TreeTime will plant a range of native trees, including Kauri, Rimu, Totara, Puriri, Kowhai, Manuka, Kanuka, and all species of Beech!

We only plant the natives which suit the local ecology of the planting site. This decision is made in conjunction with landowners, ecologists, and iwi if applicable. Once we have allocated your tree a site, we will allocate a species once they are confirmed.

Don’t worry, while all of our trees are unique, they all have a similar sequestration potential and overall benefits to the environment! The more species we can plant, the more variety of flora and fauna we can support.

TreeTime’s carbon capture trees are canopy native species. What this means is that they will grow very tall and have a large sequestration potential.

Smaller shrub trees such as manuka and kanuka don’t grow quite as high but provide added biodiversity to the site. Also, shrub trees are faster growing than the canopy trees. Because they establish themselves earlier, they nurse the canopy trees by providing shade and other benefits.

In the overwhelming number of cases, never. Once we plant your trees, we will register a covenant on the title of the land prohibiting the felling of the tree. What this means is that the tree can never be legally cut down, by TreeTime or anyone else. Due to the strong rule of law in New Zealand, you can be assured that the legal status of the tree will be protected in perpetuity.

TreeTime does of course reserve the right to remove certain trees if they pose a danger to the surrounding environment, but your tree is most unlikely to be affected and if it is we will replant it for free. This will only be done in consultation with ecologists and forestry consultants, and in rare events. Check out our terms and conditions for more detail on this.

Your tree will be planted in New Zealand. This is due to the favourable planting conditions of the country, and where the TreeTime team is based. The mild temperatures and lack of extreme weather events will ensure that your tree has the best chance possible of standing forever (or at least for your lifetime and your grandchildren after you!).

TreeTime will ensure that our trees are suitable for each particular planting site, and that they will promote the relevant biodiversity considerations for that area.

In terms of carbon capture, as the Earth has one atmosphere, it does not matter where on Earth trees are planted in the battle against climate change, only that they are planted and CO₂ is sequestered! Every country is in this together.

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts there is always a small risk of mortality when a forest is planted. We have built this into anticipated costs, and if your tree is one of the unlucky few affected it will be replanted at no cost to you.

Naturally, tree-planting is a lengthy process and requires patience. TreeTime will ensure that trees are planted as quickly as possible.

During the time period before planting your tree, we will source the land and prepare it for planting (weeding etc). We will also consult with ecologists to ensure that the right trees are being planted for the local geographies of the site.

There is a limited planting window between June and August each year. As a rule of thumb we aim to plant your tree within one year of donation, but depending on the time of the year, we may take a little longer.

TreeTime differentiates itself based on transparency and user-friendliness. When you donate to fund a tree with us, you can see where your donation goes and that your tree meets requirements of longevity and additionality.

TreeTime is also passionate about providing a user-friendly website, making tree-planting accessible and enabling everyday people like yourself who are concerned about the environment and its impact on their lives and that of their family to contribute towards mitigating climate change.

We also aim for the TreeTime app to be educational by providing information on biodiversity and carbon, allowing you to view the amounts of carbon you have captured with reference to everyday activities, such as transport, eating and even getting into space!

Absolutely not! We encourage planting as many trees as possible. Every tree planted is a step in the right direction in the battle against climate change.

In order to calculate your tree’s CO₂ sequestration, we take the total CO₂ that will, we estimate, be sequestered by your tree over the first 30 years and divide this figure to calculate your average daily sequestration.

The amount of sequestration we associate with each tree will be shown in the ‘my tree’ section of the app and updated daily. In order to calculate your total CO₂ sequestered, the app will automatically add up the individual amounts sequestered by each tree you have planted.

Sequestration figures are extracted from a number of sources including both mature plantings with actual carbon data, and the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industry’s carbon lookup tables.

You have a good memory! The Treetime interface was previously run through a webapp as well as android/iphone apps. While this was a lot of fun, unfortunately it became financially unfeasible to maintain after a range of covid setbacks. Rest assured, all environmental aspects of Treetime are just as good as ever! And who knows, the app may make a return in the future…

Good question! As there is only one planting window per year, we will sometimes plant out the whole site for ease even if we haven’t matched donations yet. We’ll keep count of the ‘unclaimed trees’ and assign these to you once you donate. It meets the additional test because until we match donations for the rest of the trees on that site, we can’t move on to the next site. Think of it as Treetime borrowing to plant your tree, and you’re paying the money back and claiming the tree for your own through your donation. This is essentially what’s happening!