About Andrea – Meet the Founder

Andrea Koehle Jones on assignment around the world.

Growing Opportunities for Children and Youth

Andrea Koehle Jones is an award-winning environmental education advocate, climate journalist, children’s book author, and United Nations Climate Observer.

“I want to give children opportunities to fall in love with nature because you protect what you love.”Andrea Koehle Jones

Andrea founded The ChariTree Foundation on Earth Day 2006. She works to save species, safeguard habitats, and instill a love of nature in children by getting them outdoors to learn hands-on skills like tree planting.

This Vancouver-based national non-profit connects local and international youth to climate education to help them survive and thrive today and lead a better tomorrow.

The ChariTree Foundation has empowered thousands of young people to take meaningful climate action through hands-on outdoor education and tree-planting initiatives across Canada, the United States, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, Mongolia and Tanzania. This United Nations Climate Observer Organization connects children and youth with nature and climate education—helping them grow into informed, compassionate climate leaders. 


A Canadian Climate Education Trailblazer

Andrea continues to advocate for transformative, accessible climate and biodiversity education—both nationally and internationally. She has also contributed to high-impact environmental campaigns, including efforts to protect the Great Bear Rainforest, the largest intact temperate rainforest on Earth.

Through partnerships with schools, camps, NGOs, and communities, The ChariTree Foundation supports projects that sequester carbon, promote biodiversity, and enhance food security through agroforestry and native species planting. These initiatives plant seeds of hope and resilience for a healthier future.

Andrea has also worked across print, online, and television media—including CBC News, CBC Kids, and Newsworld International—as a journalist, writer/producer, and award-winning documentary storyteller. She is the author of The Wish Trees: How Planting Trees Can Help Make the World a Better Place, donating 100% of profits to children’s environmental education projects. She also serves as a Nature Canada Women for Nature mentor.