Carbon Offsetting: Is planting the seed of nature conservation in people more valuable than planting seeds in the ground?

When we talk about carbon offsetting, we usually picture something tangible, a tree planted in the ground, a hectare restored, a number added to a spreadsheet. Those things matter. But over the last 20 years, I’ve come to believe there is another kind of offsetting that is harder to measure and perhaps far more powerful: Planting the seed of nature conservation in a person.

On our ventures in Africa, people don’t just see wildlife and take photographs, they immerse themselves in the landscape, they become part of a journey that we hope leaves a lifelong impact in them. They hear the stories behind the land and its wildlife, understand the pressures they face, and witness first hand what is at stake. That kind of experience changes how people see the natural world, not just for the duration of the trip, but for the rest of their lives.

A tree offsets carbon once it’s planted and begins to grow, and a person carries that impact forward every day for life. It influences the choices they make about travel, consumption, careers, education, and who they choose to support or not support. Some go on to volunteer, donate, study conservation, or influence policy and practice in meaningful ways. Others raise children who grow up valuing nature rather than taking it for granted. All of it matters.

And the impact doesn’t stop with them. People talk about experiences that move them. A powerful trip becomes a story shared with friends, family, colleagues, classrooms, and communities, sometimes for decades, sometimes for a lifetime. That single experience ripples outward, shaping conversations, attitudes, and decisions in ways no offset calculator can ever capture.

This isn’t an argument against planting trees, we need them of course. But a lived experience, once embedded, is remarkably durable. It informs values, builds empathy, and creates long term and active advocates for the natural world.

If conservation is about the future, then changing how people think, feel, and act towards nature is one of the most valuable investments we can make. In that sense, planting a seed in a person can equal, and perhaps exceed the impact of planting one in the ground.

We must continue to rewild nature. We must also focus on rewilding people...

Angus