Arbor Day Impact Fund, Working Trees Partner to Unlock Catalytic Finance for Reforestation

The partnership aims to strengthen the long-term economics of nature-based climate solutions.

LINCOLN, NE / ACCESS Newswire / May 11, 2026 / The Arbor Day Impact Fund, a mission-driven investment initiative of the Arbor Day Foundation, is working to accelerate large-scale reforestation in Brazil alongside its new partner, Working Trees.

The partnership combines catalytic capital from the Arbor Day Impact Fund with Working Trees' on‑the‑ground reforestation capabilities in order to support tree planting, ecosystem restoration, and the development of high‑integrity forestry carbon removal projects. Together, the organizations aim to help promising projects move from early development to durable, investable climate solutions.

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"High‑impact reforestation projects often face a critical gap between planting trees and securing long‑term financial sustainability. We want to close that gap by pairing low-cost capital with market access," said Pete Davis, Managing Director of the Arbor Day Impact Fund. "This partnership will empower us to not only help Working Trees scale faster with greater confidence, but also turn climate ambition into durable, tangible impact -rooted in trees, trust, and long‑term stewardship."

"One of the most critical barriers facing nature-based carbon projects is the early-stage capital required before a single credit can be sold. The Arbor Day Foundation has identified this gap and taken a meaningful step toward closing it - providing the catalytic financing that allows projects like ours to get trees in the ground today, before carbon revenues materialize. Beyond the capital itself, Arbor Day's deep relationships on the buyer side will help unlock the further commercialization of our projects at the scale this moment demands," said Leif Gonzales-Kramer, CEO of Working Trees. "Creating systems change requires long-term partnerships - not one-off transactions. We are proud to stand alongside one of the world's most trusted organizations in tree planting, and excited about what we can build together."

Working Trees has significant operational experience in reforestation and land‑based climate solutions, translating investment into trees planted, new income streams for farmers, landscapes restored, and carbon sequestered.

The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit with more than 50 years of tree planting experience. The organization specializes in fostering strong connections with corporate buyers, investors, project developers, and on-the-ground planting partners.

In addition to providing capital, the Arbor Day Foundation will help Working Trees connect its forestry carbon removal project to corporate and institutional buyers seeking credible, nature‑based climate action earlier in the project lifecycle. This can help reduce market uncertainty and strengthen project bankability, by supporting offtake discussions, aligning projects with buyer expectations, and helping translate restoration outcomes into market‑ready opportunities.

This collaboration is part of the Foundation's broader effort to support forestry ventures that are ready to scale but underserved by traditional finance. Visit arborday.org/impact-fund to learn more.

About the Arbor Day Foundation

The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. They foster a growing community of more than 1 million leaders, innovators, planters, and supporters united by their bold belief that a more hopeful future can be shaped through the power of trees. For more than 50 years, they've answered critical need with action, planting more than half a billion trees alongside their partners. And this is only the beginning.

The Arbor Day Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit pursuing a future where all life flourishes through the power of trees. Learn more at arborday.org.

About the Working Trees

Working Trees is a nature-based carbon project developer on a mission to mobilize the next generation of cattle ranching - where nature and producers thrive together. We partner with cattle ranchers to deploy silvopasture at the million-hectare scale, integrating trees into active grazing systems to sequester carbon, restore biodiversity, and improve farmer livelihoods.

Founded at Stanford University, to-date Working Trees has deployed over 2,000 hectares of silvopasture, planting approximately 400,000 trees and distributing over $1M directly to farming families.

Working Trees aims to deploy 50,000 hectares of silvopasture by 2030 and 100M hectares by 2050. Learn more at workingtrees.com.