Search engine to 'plant' 26,000 trees in Australia

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - A German-based search engine that announced a tree planting campaign to draw attention on bushfires in Australia, said Friday more than 26,000 trees will be planted as a result of searches.

"We are now able to plant 26,446 trees in the Byron Bay area in New South Wales, which has been affected by the bushfires," said Ecosia.

The group said Monday it will use 100% of its profits, gained from each search Thursday, to help regenerate Australia's ecosystem by planting trees.

It will "immediately" begin to plant 26,446 trees with the NGO ReForest Now! and has longer-term plans to restore the subtropical landscape by reforesting cleared land that is no longer used for agriculture, Ecosia said in a statement.

Mentioning the importance of selection New South Wales (NWS) as planting area, it stressed that planting trees there more urgent than other parts of the burnt area as rainforests struggle to regenerate naturally in NWS.

"The planting will start in February in the Byron Bay area," it added.

The search engine Ecosia, which defines itself as "CO2-negative," focuses on reforestation issue around the world and donates at least 80% of its profit to non-profit NGOs.