Tree Sponsorship

What is tree sponsorship?

Tree sponsorship at Terra Humana is a form of donation. A supporter makes a liberal donation — an erogazione liberale — to the foundation, and in return a specific, real tree is symbolically dedicated to them or to a person of their choosing. The supporter is called a patron. The relationship is one of support and connection, not of commerce: the patron does not buy the tree and does not become its owner.

This distinction is deliberate and important. The tree remains part of the foundation's land and its restoration mission at all times. What the patron receives is a symbolic dedication and a set of ways to follow the tree's life: a certificate, its position on a map, photographs over time, and updates on how it and the wider planting are developing. Because the sponsorship is legally a donation to a recognised third-sector body (an ETS), it may qualify for the tax relief provided under Italian law for liberal donations to such organisations.

Terra Humana deliberately does not describe tree sponsorship as carbon offsetting or climate compensation. We make no claim that sponsoring a tree neutralises a footprint or compensates emissions. What we offer is verifiable and concrete rather than abstract: a real tree, in a real place in Sardinia, documented with real photographs.

How Terra Humana understands tree sponsorship

For Terra Humana, tree sponsorship is above all a form of relationship — a way for people who cannot be physically present at Sa Medada to take part in the work and to form a lasting bond with a living being and a place. In that sense it belongs to the human side of our mission as much as the ecological one: it is an act of reconnection.

We are careful about language because language shapes expectations, and false expectations would betray both our supporters and our values. We speak of donation and dedication, never of buying, owning or trading; of a real tree and honest updates, never of guaranteed climate outcomes. This restraint is not a legal formality but an expression of integrity: a foundation devoted to restoring trust between people and nature cannot build its support on claims it could not stand behind.

Tree sponsorship in practice

Tree sponsorship is being developed as part of Project Eden at Sa Medada, near Jerzu in the Ogliastra region of Sardinia. In practice, a patron's donation is linked to an individual tree in the foundation's planting; the tree is recorded with its species, its location and a unique code, and the patron receives a dedication certificate and access to follow it as it grows. If a sponsored tree does not survive, the foundation's commitment is to replant, so that the dedication endures.

Any public display of a patron's name or dedication happens only with explicit, opt-in consent, and personal data is handled under the foundation's privacy policy. Tree sponsorship is being prepared with care and is described here as it is designed to work; where parts are still being built, we present them as intention rather than finished fact. A public tree tracker is being prepared as part of this work, so that everyone will be able to follow the growing planting.