Last year's Castle Fire in California's Sierra Nevada is estimated to have killed more than 10 percent of the world's giant sequoias, the tallest trees on earth. Sequoias can live through many fires over life spans that last thousands of years; their bark is fire-resistant and they rely on fire to reproduce. But as climate change intensifies, wildfires are growing larger and more intense. According to state officials, six of the seven largest wildfires in California history took place roughly within the past year. To help restore fire-ravaged forests and temper the effects of climate change, a handful of young companies want to scatter seeds from drones.

A group of scientists in Canada have announced a new initiative to use drones to plant new trees cheaply and quickly in part of an effort to fight against the negative effects of climate change and deforestation. Called Flash Forest, the team began testing its drone delivery systems in August, with a test flight that saw them successfully plant 100 trees with a drone. Those results were so encouraging they've expanded their goals to use their specially designed drone systems to plant a billion new trees by 2028. 'Every year the planet loses 13 billion trees and regains less than half of that,' the team's Bryce Jones said in a fundraising video announcing the project. 'We started Flash Forest with the goal of healing the planet's lungs and taking that job seriously.