Drones could be helping Mother Nature get back on her feet. Case in point- a new UK-based startup, BioCarbon Engineering, has launched a green project involving drones and planting millions of trees. If it happens, we could be looking at a future where sustainability and technology go hand in hand!

On a mission to combat global deforestation, the UK company has come up with the idea of using drones to battle widespread deforestation, which removes 26 billion trees per year from the ground. Lauren Fletcher, CEO of BioCarbon Engineering, has proposed drone tree planting as a solution for the destruction of our forests. They propose a billion trees planted per year, starting in the areas of the Amazon and South Africa.

Here’s how the drones could help with the tree-planting project: Conducting a 3D Aerial Survey. The drones will be sent to potential planting zones and they will be equipped with high-resolution cameras. A 3D map will be created from the photos and videos taken. The number of drones to be used will depend on the size of the potential planting area.

Then, once the terrain data is completed and a working 3D model is drawn up, engineers will create a feasible seeding plan that will work best depending on the lay of the land.

Loading Seed Pods. The drones will be fitted with specialized seeding equipment and will have a guidance system software for the staff to control. Moreover, they will be loaded with canisters of seed pods that have germinated seeds inside a nutrient-rich cocoon.

Fly And Plant. The drones will fly and hover at 1 to 2 meters over the ground and follow the planting pattern set by the engineers. The biodegradable seed pods will be “fired” to the ground and it will break on impact, scattering the seed to the ground. In optimal circumstances, the seeds will germinate and start to take root.

Checking The Growth. The drones will be employed to constantly check on the growth of the seeds via low-flight sessions.

How is this planting method better than the conventional ones? Lauren Fletcher has outlined how it’s much more efficient. A farmer could take a day to plant 3,000 seeds while a drone can be used to plant 36,000 seeds per day. Moreover, a drone could reach areas where humans cannot. BioCarbon will work with local ecologists to determine the best variety of seeds to use, as well as utilize any fungi and microorganism necessary to improve the soil. The drones themselves will be made by Vulcan UAV and customized specifically for the tree planting process.

The company hopes that someday a full implementation will take place. A two-man team will run about 7 or 8 drones in a simultaneous pattern. Each drone is capable of planting 10 ppm, or pods per minutes, which translates to 36,000 seed pods in a day. The number of teams could potentially reach a hundred or more in the next 5 to 7 years, increasing the amount to hitting the planting goal of 1 billion trees a year covering more than 500,000 hectares.

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