About The Earth Care Interfaith Carbon Planting Fund

The Earth Care Interfaith Fund was created by local Faith Community Leaders in 2017 to support the values of people of faith in the greater Eugene-Springfield area for the “stewardship of creation” through partnerships with local organizations. This joint fund, shared with Long Tom Watershed Council, will support activities and materials for planting, plant establishment (maintenance of plantings), and plant conservation in the McKenzie River Trust’s service area and provide much needed local match funding for the Trust’s important work in the region. Trees, shrubs, and other plants, have the ability to absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere. Planting and maintaining trees serves to address concerns for many people about their carbon footprint.* Read The 2001 Pastoral Letter on the Columbia River from the Washington State Catholic Conference.
two volunteers planting trees
Planting trees on Green Island
McKenzie River Trust plants a lot! Since 2005, we have planted over 800,000 native trees and shrubs on Green Island.

Calculators and Calculations

There are numerous ways to calculate carbon impacts depending upon your assumptions and what you value. The Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund, and others have calculators that may be of help in determining your carbon footprint. Additionally, many estimates exist on the amount of carbon that an individual tree can absorb. A tree may absorb up to 48 pounds of carbon per year, reaching a ton over 40 years. The exact amount of carbon absorbed and sequestered varies based on plant species, age, and several other factors. MRT plants a diverse variety of native tree and shrub species. The average cost of the planting and establishment of a tree or shrub is approximately $4 per plant.

Example Carbon Generating Activities and Donations

Several airlines’ and the International Civil Aviation Organization’s estimates for carbon emissions from round trip air travel between Portland, OR and New York, NY, range from 1159 to 1955 pounds of carbon. Given these estimates and calculations, one may wish to enable the planting of three to five trees to address their carbon impacts from that trip. This traveler or one making a similar trip, may choose to donate $12-20 to the Earth Care Interfaith Fund for this cross-country trip.

If you calculated your carbon footprint to be 43 tons of carbon released per year, you may wish to sponsor the planting of 43-53 trees. You may wish to donate $172-212 to the Earth Care Interfaith Fund for your annual carbon contributions.

*These local grassroots partnerships are not regulated by, nor participating in the international Verified Carbon Standard program.

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How to Contribute to the Earth Care Interfaith Fund

  • Give Online: On our Donate form, simply list “Earth Care Interfaith Fund” in the comments box. 
  • Mail a Check: Send a check to our office with “Earth Care Interfaith Fund” in the memo line.

McKenzie River Trust
120 Shelton McMurphey Blvd, Suite 270
Eugene, OR 97401