Trees4Goals: A Kenyan Teenager Plants a Forest, One Goal at a Time

Nairobi student and footballer Lesein Mutunkei started Trees4Goals in 2018 after learning that Kenya loses forest area equivalent to about 50 football pitches every day, committing to plant 11 native trees, one for each player on his team, for every goal he scores. The campaign has since planted more than 5,500 indigenous trees in forests, schools and around football training grounds across Kenya, and has grown to include other young athletes who tie their own sporting achievements to tree pledges. Mutunkei won the Children's Climate Prize in 2021 and has addressed the UN Youth Climate Summit, pushing for FIFA and professional clubs to adopt goal-for-a-tree pledges of their own.