A tree of their own

Katooke Primary School is buzzing. One hundred excited children are gathered - not for sports, or for games, but for trees.

One by one, each child receives a fruit tree of their very own – mango, avocado, jackfruit. With pride, they plant and name them.

Joseph’s tree. Masika’s tree.

The trees are theirs, to protect and nurture as they grow together.

A tree-planting generation celebrate with their seedlings

Trees are disappearing in Kasese District, where these children live.

Kasese is a varied and beautiful area of Western Uganda, with lakes, parks, wetlands and mountains. But there’s also rampant deforestation, and Katooke Parish has experienced some of the terrible consequences. The river Nyabyeya has flooded, mudslides have caused chaos on the slopes of Rwenzori Mountain. Lands have eroded and lost their fertility, leading to food insecurity.

How does Joseph’s tree help? Or Masika’s?

Well, ask the new generation of Katooke!

They’re learning that Joseph’s tree will enrich the soil, and the roots will soak up excess water, reducing flood risk. They know Masika’s tree will produce rich, nutritious fruit, the kind which can be eaten or sold to create a new, needed income.

The school’s 100 trees are part of a much wider project run by community group Front for Climate Change, where schools, churches and private land will be transformed by 6,000 new trees.

Bamboo will shore up riverbanks, preventing future floods and landslides. The project will expand their agroforestry work, nourishing the soil, growing profitable fruit.

New native species will be planted in the community tree nursery, and when the seedlings are grown, they will repopulate Katooke, turning bare lands lush again.

A tree-planting project in nearby Rwenzori Mountains

Thanks to our supporters, ITF are empowering groups like Front for Climate Change, supporting them as they grow into larger, more independent organisations.

With your support, their grand restoration visions are becoming a reality.