"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit..."
As the world gears up for Earth Day this week, our weekly email is from Elida Banda and Busiwa Namwila from our projects team.
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”
-- Nelson Henderson
According to a report by Global Forest Watch, “In 2010, Eastern province had 717 kilo hectares (kha) of tree cover, extending over 14% of its land area. By 2020, it lost 2.68 kha of tree cover equivalent to 856 kilotons of Co2 emissions” (www.globalforestwatch.org). Following the increase in the loss of trees, Impact Network embarked on a tree planting project in schools and the surrounding communities, an endeavor aimed at alleviating the effects of deforestation through planting and educating our students. With over 6,000 planted so far, our project target is to plant 12,000 by the end of 2022!
Students first have a session that highlights the benefits trees bring and the responsibility they have to protect them from animals and provide water during the dry season until they are large enough and strong enough to survive on their own. Then the students participate in planting the trees around the school.
Notable features of the project in schools is that our fast-growing trees planted only last year have already started acting as windbreakers, providing shade for schools and some are nearly ready to produce fruit for our learners in schools. Gliricidia, Lukina, Papaya, Lemon and Moringa are among the varieties we have planted.
Parents and community members appreciate receiving seedlings after child protection community sensitization meetings. These they can plant at their homes or next to their fields due to the benefit of reducing soil erosion and increasing the soils ability to retain water, in addition to providing green manure and nitrogen. We have also focused on planting trees that are termite resistant and drought resistant.
We remain committed to promoting environmental awareness and a green Eastern Province!
Thank you, Elida and Busiwa!