WaterBear Expands into 30 New Countries

WaterBear Network has expanded its digital platform and app into an additional 30 countries and is planting a new tree for every new member for the next 30,000 members that sign up to the platform to celebrate its growth, creating the WaterBear Forest.

This expansion sees WaterBear become available in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Kenya, Mozambique, Bermuda, Cook Islands and Bonaire. WaterBear launched in December 2020 in the U.S., U.K., New Zealand, Australia, Canada, South Africa, the Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark.

Supported by George Monbiot, British writer and environmentalist; Jena Goldsack, British supermodel and marine conservationist; and Arizona Muse, model, activist and sustainability consultant, the WaterBear Forest will be planted at Alladale Wilderness Reserve in the Scottish Highlands. This underscores the platform’s commitment to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) taking place in Glasgow, Scotland as well as its support of rewilding initiatives across the country. As part of the initiative, WaterBear is challenging any pioneering companies to match-fund the 30,000 tree planting initiative to continue the global restoration movement ahead of COP 26 this November.

Victor Eckard, managing director of WaterBear, said: “Our goal is to bring WaterBear to as large an audience as we possibly can so that we can share stories using award-winning filmmaking to help us drive global impact. As we establish our brand and reputation for beautifully curated and inspirational content it is a huge privilege to be able to reach so many more members worldwide. We look forward to engaging and connecting with people and organizations around the world so that collectively we can all work together to protect our fragile planet.

“By partnering with Alladale Wilderness Reserve to create the WaterBear Forest and challenging other companies to mirror our initiative, we are hoping to not only celebrate our global expansion but also contribute to the incredible land restoration efforts taking place in the Highlands to rewild our world,” Eckard added.

Paul Lister, custodian of Alladale Wilderness Reserve, said: “Like WaterBear, we are dedicated to acting on the climate and biodiversity emergency by committing to Rewilding and Conservation initiatives. The WaterBear forest is another step to building a more sustainable future for our planet and we are excited to be at the forefront of it.”