When you buy your Christmas tree this year, please also send some festive cheer to deprived families in Southern Africa by paying for a disadvantaged Zimbabwean community to plant one.

Around 8.25 million real Christmas trees are sold annually in the UK. On average each will have taken 11 years to grow, yet only 1-in-10 are recycled for composting and wood chipping. The other 90 percent end up in landfill.

In countries like Zimbabwe, however, trees are more than just a winter decoration. Soil erosion and the need in rural areas for a sustainable source of fuel for cooking are real problems.

That's why each December Zimbabwe celebrates National Tree Planting Day. Gum trees provide families with a sustainable source of income, firewood and building material for many years after planting. Other indigenous trees such as the drought-resistant, medicinal Munyii and the superfood Moringa provide a source of highly nutritious fruit and seeds.

The typical British household will spend £35 to buy their Christmas tree. In contrast, to train, advise and supply a whole village in Zimbabwe with the fencing and saplings needed for them to plant, care for and sustainably harvest their own miniature forest costs around £1,750 - or just £3.50 per tree.

So, if you want to do something to help offset our seasonal waste, join SEED and pay for a disadvantaged community to plant a tree - or perhaps even a dozen! It is the Christmas gift that will keep on giving: hope to a Zimbabwean family now and empowerment for years to come.

As Jackson Nazombe, one of SEED's founders, explains, "A tree is for life ... not just for Christmas!"

Donate online or by texting "SEED77 £10" to 70070.

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