This research summary brief distills lessons from the first five years of Regreening Africa, a large-scale initiative implemented across sub-Saharan African countries to scale up the adoption of tree-based restoration practices—including Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), tree planting, and soil and water conservation. Drawing on rich household-level data and extensive on-the-ground experience, the brief explores the key factors that enable or limit uptake, offering practical insights to inform restoration efforts under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.