The pledge to plant 1 million trees in the next five years is part of the partnership with American Forests, the oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the United States. It’s part of a two-pronged approach to fighting climate change.
The second prong involves supports American Forests goal of creating “tree equity” and green space in urban areas through community ReLeaf efforts beginning next year in Louisville, Ky.
The one million trees planted through the partnership and first initiative will provide a variety of environmental benefits for years to come including:
- Carbon sequestration: 645,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide will be stored over the next 100 years, equal to removing the emissions from driving 140,000 cars over one year.
- Air Purification: An average of 74,000 pounds of air pollutants will be removed from the air per year. For fine particles like dust, this benefit is equal to removing 1,000 cars from the road.
- Water Conservation: An average of 75 million gallons of runoff will be conserved per year, equal to the volume of water stored by 114 Olympic sized swimming pools.
- Providing Vital Wildlife Habitat: Roughly 2,000 acres of critical forest across several states in the Eastern U.S. will be restored.
Why White Oak? Bulleit said it has prioritized white oak restoration because in addition to being a cornerstone species of forests in the Eastern U.S., white oaks are essential to the future of so many industries, including the whiskey industry.