My Mission: 21 Billion Native Trees Planted Every Year
I’m Biddrup Mallick, an eco-friendly content strategist — and this page is about the bigger reason behind everything I do. I’m working toward a future where more than 400 million people around the world plant at least one native tree every week. That’s over 21 billion native trees a year.
It’s an enormous goal, and I haven’t reached it yet. But every project I take, every app I build, and every tree I plant moves it forward. Here’s the full picture.
What Is a Native Tree?
A native tree is a species that naturally belongs to a region’s original ecosystem — it grew there long before humans started moving plants around the world. For example, mahogany is common in Bangladesh today, but it is not native to Bangladesh, so I don’t plant it. Native trees support local birds, insects, and soil far better than imported species, which is why this mission counts native trees only.
The Math Behind 21 Billion Trees
The target audience is about 403.9 million people — each planting at least one native tree every week, without repeating the same tree species they planted in the past year. One tree per person per week, multiplied across a year, adds up to more than 21 billion native trees annually.
Free Apps That Plant Trees
How do you reach 400 million people? By building tools they actually use every day — education, health, and finance apps that are completely free for everyone. The only request to every user: plant at least one native tree a week, or at least four a month. See the full list on my apps page.
- An education app for MCQ exams — automatic results, self-organized group exams, and more; nearly complete, launching under iamwithtrees.com
- AllyComes — a complete agriculture app for farmers: crop planning, AI plant disease scanner, marketplace, and weather; finished, awaiting publication
- Wexlova — a women’s health, finance, and empowerment app; in final development
- A personal finance tracking app — planned
And the tree planting isn’t just a request — it’s built into the apps. AllyComes and Wexlova both include a weekly tree-planting log with GPS coordinates and community verification: two nearby users within 10 km confirm each planting. Real trees, really verified.
My freelance work funds this. When clients hire me, they aren’t just getting content strategy — they’re funding free tools and native forests.
The apps aren’t the only free tools. On my YouTube channel I publish free tutorials in Bangla — Google Workspace, content skills, English learning — for students and freelancers in Bangladesh. Every video ends with the same request: plant a native tree, take care of the people around you, take care of yourself.
From Trees to Vertical Vegetable Gardens
Planting is only phase one. The long-term vision: every planted tree becomes a vertical vegetable garden — shrub vegetables growing beneath the tree, climbing vines growing up it. One tree, one garden.
The system sustains itself. At least 10% of every harvest stays on the tree, because fully ripened fruit produces the best seeds. Those seeds fall, sprout, and the cycle continues — new trees and vegetables grown from your own seeds, as much as possible. In the future, if it proves possible, robots would maintain these gardens.
Grown from Seed, Shared with Wildlife
This mission feeds more than people. A tree grown from seed reaches its full natural height — tall enough for birds to nest in, which a short grafted tree never allows. That’s why, even though grafted saplings are fine to start with, the heart of this mission is growing trees from seed.
The method is patient: let fruit ripen fully on the tree, because ripe fruit carries the strongest seeds. When a seed sprouts where it falls, let it grow right there if possible. If that spot won’t work, move the seedling while it’s still small to a place where it can live out its full life. Food for people below, homes and food for birds and animals above — one tree serving everything around it.
Why Food, Not Just Money
Most poverty programs hand people money. But if there’s no food in the market, what does money buy? And if one region grows a surplus while another grows nothing, that’s not a solution either. The most reliable answer is the simplest: everyone produces as much of their own food as they can. When millions of households grow even part of what they eat, food prices fall for everyone — including those who can’t grow anything.
That’s the real mission behind the trees: nutritious food within arm’s reach of every household, and a dignity that no cash transfer can provide. I’ve been researching poverty alleviation since 2014 — this is where that research led.
Join the #IamWithTrees Movement
You don’t need an app to start. Plant one native tree this week — a species that truly belongs to your region. Then do it again next week. Share it with #IamWithTrees. That’s the whole movement: simple, weekly, native.
Want to support the mission through work? Hire me on Upwork or reach me on Facebook.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the #IamWithTrees movement?
#IamWithTrees is a movement started by Biddrup Mallick with a goal of 21+ billion native trees planted every year, by encouraging over 400 million people to each plant one native tree per week.
Why native trees only?
Native trees are species that naturally belong to a region’s original ecosystem. They support local wildlife and soil far better than imported species. For example, mahogany is not native to Bangladesh, so it doesn’t count in this mission.
Are the apps really free?
Yes — every app in this mission is completely free for everyone. The only request to users is to plant at least one native tree a week, or four a month.
How can I join?
Plant one native tree in your region this week, repeat weekly without repeating the same species within a year, and share it with #IamWithTrees.