Founding a Treevolution: Greening Africa

When Misha Teasdale left university, he wanted to explore the world before starting a career. But his decision to travel from Cape Town to London with five of his friends set him on a trajectory that was to change his life and world of work forever.

Traveling across 21 countries, his experience changed his mind about the world and the impact he wanted to have. What he saw on his trip—from widespread deforestation to shrinking lakes—reminded him that our world needs us to fight for it. He hasn’t looked back since.

Through support from his mentors, family and friends, Teasdale founded Greenpop—an organization which hosts reforestation festivals on the continent as well as numerous rewilding projects connecting people to nature and restoring landscapes.

Fast forward 9 years, and Greenpop—making greening popular—is now an award-winning organization restoring ecosystems, greening communities and empowering environmental stewards. It has projects in Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa. We spoke to Teasdale about turning points in his career, and how to follow your path.

What was the turning point in your career which led you to start Greenpop?

Our societies are now set up in a way that we have limited opportunities to explore our world and environment. Most people go to school, then university, then into the world of work. I wasn’t ready to start work when I was 24, and with some friends, I planned a trip from Cape Town to London. This experience made me realize that when you put your mind to something, no matter how big, you can achieve anything. In 2010, I was offered a film job to fly around the world and document football development. After three-and-a-half months, having travelled 360,000 kilometers, our team felt we needed to do something about our massive carbon footprint. We decided to start an initiative to plant 1,000 trees. Things moved fast—we put together a fun campaign, planned reverse graffiti murals and set up activations in public areas to canvas people. On our first day, we raised enough to plant 69 trees. It was a humble but fun beginning. So many people wanted to get involved—I realized we were onto something powerful.

What advice would you give on following your path? What challenges have you faced along the way and how have you overcome them?

It’s essential to build a resilient team, which involves maintaining creative relationships. Everyone has a different experience and background, and it’s important to connect with people where they are right now. Find shared values when working with other people: your team, companies, other groups and other individuals. For example, some people can’t leave their desk; others may have a dream to travel somewhere and participate in an event. You need to find a way to speak their language. It’s also important to remain authentic and curious. Turning certain work down, because it doesn’t fit with your vision is difficult to do, but it’s critical to stay true to your vision. Know when to pivot: saying goodbye to some projects because the money won't cover the cost of the work, or the impact is not there, is hard. But when you close doors, it’s amazing which doors will open.

Did mentors play a role in your decision and, if so, how did they support you?

I have had mentors on my journey who have kept me coming back to my path. John D Liu, the founder of the Environmental Education Media Project and a veteran eco-film director, inspired me hugely with his documentary about the Loess Plateau: “Hope in a Changing Climate.” His message of hope on forest landscape restoration shows how large groups of people can restore ecosystems, and celebrates with passion and humanity what an investment in nature can yield. His work continues to remind me that, even when we lose hope, it is possible to bring places which were once desert back to flourishing landscape. I also believe in the power of community. Countless volunteers, friends, family and community members have helped to build Greenpop into a movement. You can’t achieve everything on your own. Building a team and community is so important for long-term success.

Some environmental challenges are so large, it’s easy to feel powerless. What advice do you have for tackling big issues at an individual level?

It’s important to realize that we, as individuals, can’t solve every problem we encounter. We can only realistically tackle some of them. During our trip across Africa, the extent of environmental degradation hit me, and I felt hopeless. At one point, our second vehicle died, we had spent almost all our money and some of us were ill. Things were looking rough. But we persevered. We had a destination and that’s what kept us going. As a civilization, for centuries we have been innovating and solving problems. As a human race, we have achieved and done so much. Even if we get it wrong, we are still learning. That’s important too. 

Want to make a difference for our planet? See if you have what it takes to be a Young Champion of the Earth in 2019. Apply today! The Young Champions of the Earth Prize is powered by Covestro.