A U.S.-based organization, BioCarben Engineering, led by a former NASA engineer, intends to plant a billion trees per year by drone in areas that underwent massive levels of deforestation, according to Inquisitr.com.
The group will rely on drones because hand-planting trees is too slow compared with the rate of mechanized deforestation, Lauren Fletcher, formerly of NASA, told the paper.
“Destruction of global forests from lumber, mining, agriculture, and urban expansion destroys 26 billion trees each year,” she said. “We believe that this industrial scale deforestation is best combated using the latest automation technologies.”
The team will fly drones above planting areas and drop biodegradable pods filled with pre-germinated seeds and nutritious soil into the ground. The pods that land successfully will be watered and monitored by the drones.
Drones can plant about 36,000 trees per day for 15 percent less money than conventional reforestation methods, the group said.
