Our planet is heading for an existential crisis. At the joint UCL-Birkbeck Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology (ISMB) we are pushing the frontiers of science and thereby aspire to make positive contributions to our world. However, since our work involves frequent travel, often by air, we are thereby also contributing negatively to climate change. By establishing the ‘ISMB Grove’ we aim to off-set the carbon emissions of our activities, ranging from travel and communications, computational- and experimental research, to the daily running of our laboratories and maintenance of infrastructure. This Grove was established by planting 100 native trees and restoring native wood land habitats in connection with the 9th biennial ISMB symposium in January 2021. The ISMB Grove provides all members of the ISMB, associated collaborators and friends with the simple and beautiful means to effect a positive change by adding further trees to the Grove over time.