To Tree or Not to Tree: Carbon Offsets at Home

We decided to grow a few trees… but made sure they paid rent — in fruit.

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🌍 The Big Idea: Carbon Offsetting at Home

Let’s face it — we all have a carbon footprint.
And while we can reduce, reuse, and rant at the telly, some emissions are harder to dodge (looking at you, streaming in 4K, and the occasional cheese binge).

So we thought, “Why not plant some trees?”
But not just any trees...

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🍏 Our Offset Plan: Go Fruity or Go Home

Instead of ornamental trees that just stand there looking smug, we went with:

• Apple Trees 🍎

• Pear Trees 🍐

• A couple of Plums (because why not?)

• Fruit Cherry Trees (because as well as the flowers we get the fruit)

Because:
✅ They absorb CO₂
✅ They provide food
✅ They encourage biodiversity (hello bees!)
✅ And they taste a lot better than a carbon calculator

It’s carbon offsetting with snacks.

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🤔 How Many Trees Do You Need to Offset Your Life?

Let’s not pretend planting one sapling erases a year of driving.
But here’s a rough guide:

• A mature tree can absorb about 20–25 kg of CO₂ per year

• The average UK person emits 5–10 tonnes annually

• So yes… you'd need a small forest

Still, every bit helps — and growing trees at home:

• Educates your family

• Supports local biodiversity

• Tastes better than guilt

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🧠 Pro Tips

• Choose native species or ones suited to your soil

• Go for edible fruit or nuts

• Space them properly (or you’ll be hacking back branches all summer)

• Water well in the first year

• Let the grass grow beneath to create a mini meadow too

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Final Thought

We didn’t offset our entire carbon footprint — but we gained apples, pollinators, and a bit more peace of mind.

Carbon offsetting at home doesn’t have to be complicated.
It can start with a hole, a spade, and a tree with a purpose.