Over the past half century, Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, has undergone rapid population growth, resulting in the loss of millions of trees due to urban development in the city.

With its population on track to reach more than two million by 2030, urban sprawl is encroaching on the forested, mountainous peninsula outside the city. Seventy percent of Freetown’s trees have been cut down, and the city is already experiencing negative effects from the loss of these critical ecosystems. In 2017, devastating floods and landslides swept through Freetown, tragically taking the lives of 1,000 people. Such disasters, along with coastal erosion, are becoming more common.

Led by Manja Kargbo, Freetown the Treetown is an ambitious, city-led, “pay-to- grow” scheme to plant, grow and digitally track trees, which aims to restore what has been lost and protect it for future generations.

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Over the last ten years, the evidence that we face urgent challenges to protect the environment has become indisputable, and it’s clear that the time to act is now. Drawing inspiration from the concept of moonshots, which since the moon landing in 1969 has become shorthand to talk about the most ambitious and ground-breaking goals, Prince William announced The Earthshot Prize: an ambitious set of challenges to inspire a decade of action to repair the planet.

We believe in the power of human ingenuity to prove to us all that the seemingly impossible is possible.

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Learn more about The Earthshot Prize here: https://earthshotprize.org/
The Earthshot Prize on TikTok:   / theearthshotprize  
The Earthshot Prize on Instagram: twitter.com/TheEarthshotPrize
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