Excellent! - excellentdevelopment.com

Travel Counsellors is the UK's fastest growing independent travel agency, with a network of over 600 travel consultants throughout the country.  In order to offer their customers the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions from their air flights, Travel Counsellors have teamed up with Excellent Development in a TreeDuty partnership.

From now on, anyone buying flights through Travel Counsellors will be able to plant trees with our community groups in Kenya to offset the carbon emissions from their flights.  Travel Counsellors' TreeDuty donations are used to plant many endangered and medicinally useful species of trees.  The trees are planted by farmers on their farms, where they prevent soil erosion and help absorb rainwater, while also providing fuel, food, medicines and building materials from their wood, leaves and fruit.

While aiding the conservation of endangered species and improving soil and water conservation, the trees also increase regional biodiversity and act as a carbon sink, helping the global carbon balance.  Examples of trees we plant are:

Prunus africana (the red stinkwood) is a slow growing tree, which is severely threatened in the wild due to its value as a treatment for prostate disorders. It is currently protected under CITES appendix II.

Moringa oleifera (the horseradish tree) is a drought tolerant fruit bearing species with many uses. Its seeds can be used to improve domestic water quality. An edible oil is derived from its seeds. Its leaves contain high concentrations of vitamins A, B and C as well as calcium, iron and protein. The flowers are rich in potassium and calcium, and most parts of the tree have uses in traditional medicine. Furthermore, the wood provides a pulp that can be used to produce both paper and textiles.

Click here to visit the Travel Counsellors' website.