2 min read / April 23, 2025 / Staff writer
For the seventh year in a row, Komatsu employees ventured deep into the forest to plant trees in support of our ongoing reforestation partnership with nonprofit organization Green Forests Work (GFW). This year’s planting took place on Earth Day (April 22), at the site of our latest collaboration with GFW: New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia.
With a particular focus on restoration of formerly mined lands, our partnership with GFW has resulted in the planting of more than 700,000 trees to date. While much of GFW’s work focuses on the Appalachian region of the eastern United States, Komatsu also partnered with the organization to do reforestation work in Australia with Anglo American and is regularly considering other opportunities for global expansion of the work. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to restoring more than a million acres of formerly mined lands and spreading proper reclamation practices worldwide.
During the Earth Day planting event, Komatsu leadership team members planted more than 1,500 saplings to support this year’s planting season. This year marked Komatsu’s inaugural involvement in tree planting at New River Gorge. Komatsu previously spent six years supporting the reforestation of formerly mined land in the Monongahela National Forest, also in West Virginia. With help from Komatsu, GFW was able to wrap up its work on the Monongahela ahead of schedule last year, marking a shift to New River Gorge for the next phase of our ongoing partnership.
Reforestation work at New River Gorge focuses on restoring a historically mined area known as Terry Top, a site that was mined before the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977. Remnants of the area’s mining past remain, including the site’s eroded highwalls (the unexcavated face of exposed overburden and coal in a surface mine), and legacy signage warning of previous blasting activity. The land, compacted and stripped of natural vegetation, had suffered from poor water infiltration and limited habitat value.
To prepare the area for planting, site work began in late January with essential soil ripping — a process that used Komatsu machines to break up hardened soil layers and allow water to seep into the ground. This step was critical for ensuring the new trees could take root and thrive.
One of the unique aspects of the Terry Top restoration is the integration of wetland enhancement. Rather than draining the naturally formed water pools beneath the highwalls, the team is working to improve them as functioning wetlands to provide valuable habitat for native wildlife and help enhance the region's water quality.
Reforestation is considered Komatsu’s signature initiative for corporate social responsibility. Our support of work to restore formerly mined lands is an opportunity to contribute to essential environmental action in a way that aligns well to customers’ needs and our brand purpose: creating value through manufacturing and technology innovation to empower a sustainable future where people, business and our planet thrive together.
Putting our equipment and people to action, Komatsu is directly contributing to the restoration of forests as well as the viability of the land and local economies. Komatsu employees around the world also plant trees each year as part of our annual Earth Day volunteering commitment.
Where would you like to see our reforestation efforts focus next? Read more about our nonprofit partner, Green Forests Work, here: Nonprofit Tree Planting Organization | Green Forests Work | Kentucky.