Photo by John Swannell

In a world-first, Duran Duran have this week announced a unique project that will connect NFTs to newly-planted, native trees in New Zealand as part of an initiative to start new micro forests around the world. 

The band will kick off this ambitious initiative by gifting the digital owners of the existing “INVISIBLE” NFT collection, which was released last year in support of the band’s 15th studio album, Future Past. 

Each of the 100 people who purchased one of the “INVISIBLE” NFTs will receive a brand-new eco-friendly NFT featuring a themed artwork designed by Huxley, the AI artist with whom the band collaborated on their “INVISIBLE” music video and NFT artworks. 

Along with the NFT, a living tree will be planted in Jardine Park, Queenstown, New Zealand, in the person’s name. Each new tree will be traceable on the blockchain via the corresponding NFT. Planting will take place over the next few days.

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These NFTs will be the first in a new, ongoing conservation collection called Digital Native. Each Digital Native NFT represents a living tree, and is fully tradable. The partners in this project (Duran Duran, Huxley and Cube) are donating 100% of their proceeds from secondary sales towards building more micro forests in perpetuity; and for those NFT owners who elect to give 50% or more of their sales revenue to the cause, they will be given a special ‘key’ to the forest that will unlock future benefits, including new NFTs.

Photo by John Swannell

Nick Rhodes says: “Much like nature, technology finds a pathway to evolve and when innovative new ideas can be utilised to help our planet in positive ways, we should seize those opportunities. Connecting physical trees to the blockchain is a brand new way to create awareness through art and at the same time involve local communities to plant more trees, to benefit the environment.

“We are thrilled to be continuing our relationship with the AI, Huxley, in this endeavour and our hope is that many others will follow to continue the process of planting trees. We look forward to seeing where this collaboration will lead us in the future.”

In other Duran Duran news, the band have been confirmed as nominees for the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.

“Just to make it onto the nominations list is an honour that I never expected to experience,” says Simon Le Bon. “But for sure, this distinction is due in large part to the fact that we have an army of fans around the world who have unwaveringly supported us for the past four decades. We are all extremely grateful to all of you for making this happen.”

For more details on this year’s Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame event, click here.

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