Growing Opportunities for Children and Youth
Andrea Koehle Jones is an award-winning environmental education advocate, climate journalist, children’s book author, United Nations Climate Observer, and the founder of Canada’s ChariTree Foundation. She has worked across print, online, and television media, including CBC and CBC Kids, and has contributed to landmark environmental campaigns such as the effort to save the Great Bear Rainforest. Andrea also serves as a Nature Canada Women for Nature mentor and is a member of the UNICEF Advisory Group on Youth-Led Climate Education, launching in September 2025. She recently signed a publishing deal for her upcoming children’s tree planting book, set to be released in Spring 2026.
“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.
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 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.