“Everyone Plant One” campaign – promoting tree planting

What unsustainable behaviour needs to change:

Sydney suffers from the “Heat Island Effect,” where heat retained by human-made infrastructure increases temperatures. To address this, the New South Wales Government aimed to encourage people to plant one million trees on private property by 2022, as part of a broader goal to plant five million trees by 2030. However, many residents viewed trees as inconvenient, messy, and dangerous.

Despite awareness of trees‘ environmental benefits, interest in planting them on private land was low. Research by The Behavioural Architects (2020) explored the barriers and drivers to encourage tree planting.

Key findings included:

• Tree Stereotype: The word „tree“ evoked images of large, inconvenient park trees, discouraging private planting.
• Social Norms: Tree removal was more common than planting, making the latter socially unusual.
• Process Barriers: Even when motivated, people found the steps of choosing, planting, and maintaining trees too difficult and off-putting.

However, three drivers for planting emerged:

• Problem-solving: People plant trees to address garden needs (e.g., privacy or flowers) rather than from a desire for trees themselves.
• Suggestibility: People respond well to free tree giveaways or prompts from councils or neighbours.
• Timely Advice: Simple, actionable advice at the right time makes tree planting easier.

Efforts focused on changing perceptions and simplifying the process.

The Green Nudge:

The “Everyone Plant One” campaign launched in October 2021. Participants could either pledge to plant a tree or register an already planted tree, reinforcing engagement through psychological principles like ‘commitment’ and ‘endowment bias’.

Promotion included social media ads, digital media partnerships, and influencer outreach, where 20 influencers in Greater Sydney received finger lime trees from IndigiGrow. Messaging focused on tree benefits while avoiding the word „tree“ to sidestep negative associations. The phrase “Everyone Plant one” was used instead. The Sydney Film Festival also highlighted tree registration numbers, promoting a growing social norm. 

The result: The campaign led to a significant increase in tree registrations, with a notable rise from 29% to 43%. By the end of 2022, more than one million trees had been planted.

Are you aware of any other nudges that help to improve biodiversity? Feel free to get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com