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Good practice Imported

Freetown the Treetown: Pay-to-Grow Digital Tree Tracking

Sierra Leone · Freetown · See the Sierra Leone profile · See the Freetown profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 54% 67/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Freetown City Council pays residents to plant and digitally geo-tag trees, verifying survival over multiple years via a tracking app funded by tradeable carbon-market tokens. Phase 1 (2020-21) tracked 250,000+ trees at over 80% survival; the city now targets 5 million by 2030.

250000
Trees planted and tracked (Phase 1) (2020-21)
50000
Mangroves planted (Phase 1) (2020-21)
80%+
Survival rate (2020-21)
5000
Impact tokens sold (Phase 1)
550+
Short-term jobs created (Phase 1)
700000
Phase 2 target trees (2021-22)
5000000
2030 city target
~70%
Original tree cover lost
~1,000
2017 landslide/flood deaths (est.)
Freetown the Treetown: Pay-to-Grow Digital Tree Tracking

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Freetown City Council
Period
2020-ongoing (target 2030)
Keywords
urban reforestation, climate resilience, civic data, green jobs

Context

Freetown has lost roughly 70% of its original tree cover and faces recurring floods and landslides — a 2017 landslide and flood killed an estimated 1,000 people — while the city's population is projected to pass 2 million by 2030, intensifying pressure on remaining green space. Freetown City Council, under then-mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, launched 'Freetown the Treetown' as a pay-to-grow scheme.

Objectives

The programme aimed to restore urban tree cover and build climate resilience against flooding and landslides, while creating short-term jobs and a self-sustaining revenue stream that did not depend solely on donor grants.

Activities

Community growers plant trees and mangroves, register each one on a TreeTracker app with a geotagged photo ID, and receive mobile-money micropayments as they revisit and verify survival over several years. Tree IDs convert into tradeable 'impact tokens' sold on carbon and private markets.

Results

In Phase 1 (2020-21) the programme planted and digitally tracked 250,000 trees plus 50,000 mangroves, reported survival above 80%, sold 5,000 impact tokens, and created over 550 short-term jobs; Phase 2 targeted 700,000 further trees across the 2021-22 rainy seasons. The initiative was a 2023 Earthshot Prize finalist, and the city has since raised its ambition to 5 million trees by 2030.

Conclusions

Verification of survival and canopy outcomes relies on the city's own TreeTracker data pipeline (Open Data Kit and QGIS) rather than an independent third-party audit, and financing depends partly on volatile voluntary carbon markets — real risks for a scheme still short of its full-scale target.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Financed via mobile-money micropayments to growers plus revenue from impact-token sales on carbon/private markets, alongside donor grants
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Phase 1 ran 2020-21; Phase 2 targeted the 2021-22 rainy seasons; city ambition extended to 5 million trees by 2030
Staffing & skills
Community growers who plant and revisit trees for multi-year survival verification, Freetown City Council programme team under then-mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr

Conditions for success

  • Mobile-money micropayments as growers verify tree survival over several years
  • Tradeable 'impact tokens' sold on carbon and private markets provide revenue beyond donor grants

Common failure modes

  • Verification relies on the city's own TreeTracker data pipeline (Open Data Kit, QGIS) rather than an independent third-party audit
  • Financing depends partly on volatile voluntary carbon markets

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes Philanthropic / foundation funding

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

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