How to go strong for another 102 years

Trustee Stephen Barber took time out during a Kenya trip to visit our projects in the Imenti, in the shadow of Mount Kenya.

“My father’s 102 years’ old, so he was born in the same year as ITF,” said Dorothy, a formidable leader of the local Meru Community Forest Association (CFA). “He remembers the Lower Imenti when it was thick with old growth trees. I used to play in the forest as a child and hear the birds singing.” But in the past 50 years – by no means discouraged by the authorities – the forest had been steadily stripped of its trees for timber, charcoal and firewood until there was nothing left. And the birds disappeared.

In the area I visited, an invasive shrub called Lantana camara, imported from the Caribbean by the colonial administration as a rapid hedging plant, soon took over. Lantana suffocates all competition, preventing natural regeneration and covering the ground in a thick tangle to a height of 2-3 metres. It has to be cut down and dug out by hand (the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) sensibly bans the use of machinery as it destroys the soil structure).

Growing just some of the 250,000 seedlings of indigenous species which are being planted

But in 2017, under the terms of the visionary Kenya Forest Act, ITF partnered with the local CFA to reforest 200 hectares of the Lower Imenti with over 250,000 seedlings of indigenous species. The transformation is breathtaking. Thick stands of trees, 5-10 metres tall, cover the entire area. The air is filled with vibrant birdsong, the shrill chirruping of crickets and the rippling of revived water streams. First in the ground are pioneer species, which grow fastest and create a closed canopy in 3-5 years. Once this happens, a virtuous circle begins in which weeds are suppressed and natural regeneration from dormant seeds occurs.

The first three years are critical, as Lantana and other unwanted vegetation return if not controlled until the new canopy develops. One solution pioneered in Kenya is the TELIS (Tree Establishment and Livelihood Skills) scheme, under which the local community is granted the right to grow crops in amongst the developing seedlings during this initial period, so long as they keep the ground clear. This scheme, suspended until quite recently but now resumed, has proved highly successful.

Edwin Mwiti, responsible for monitoring ITF’s projects using GPS and remote sensing technologies – he’s a whizz with a drone – takes me to see a senior KFS officer in Meru. I hear that it is the KFS which identifies and approves areas suitable and available for reforestation; there are still a few tens of thousands of hectares in temperate areas around Aberdare and Mt Kenya, but it won’t be too long before we have to tackle arid and semi-arid land – a much more demanding proposition. I confess I’m rather proud of how much the KFS appreciates our work in Kenya.

Next we visit a reforesting project in the Upper Imenti, 20 minutes drive away. Here we see an ‘elephant corridor’, an electrified fence and overpass which allows these majestic creatures to continue to use a historic migration route where human settlement and roads have encroached on their territory. Much better knowledge of elephant movements through collar-tracking, pioneered by Iain Douglas-Hamilton at Save The Elephants, has hugely aided conservation efforts by reducing human-elephant conflict – now the gravest threat to our largest land mammal.

Stephen and Edwin at the Upper Imenti project

Trees planted in the Upper Imenti

In the Upper Imenti I see a second project started in 2022, where the canopy cover will soon be complete. On the adjoining land, a new project has begun. Here women from the local community are hacking away at endless hectares of Lantana bushes. But I’m encouraged when I realise that its degraded present state is just as the Lower Imenti forest area was a short seven years ago. In the dry heat they are stacking brash in long, low piles. It mustn’t be burnt because of pollution and the danger of wildfire. This is good work for the local women as it gives them an independent income and the means to send their children to school. Still, when planting in remoter areas, which can be up to seven kilometres from habitation, getting to work is a challenge in itself, often involving a long, dusty walk under the equatorial sun.

Last but not least, Edwin brought me to ITF’s new plant nursery, secured by a high electric fence to deter elephants. A group of local women raise thousands of tender young seedlings – both indigenous species and fruit trees such as mango and avocado  – which will be ready for planting out in a matter of weeks. These seedlings can also be made available for planting programmes other than those under ITF’s responsibility.

Edwin in the seedling nursery

I’m shown one of ITF’s pioneering fuel-efficient stoves, a cheap and simple hand-built construction of clay, which uses 75% less wood than a traditional open fire. Further savings are achieved through agreed protocols on firewood collection from the restored forests, so that the local community has relearnt how to manage the woodland sustainably, while no longer having to go so far to fetch fuel.

In our field there is nothing so inspiring than to see the results of a reforestation or restoration project, where the landscape, the wildlife and the daily life of the local community has been transformed in less than a decade. It’s especially heartening to see how much the local community is invested in these projects, understanding the critical value of ecosystem restoration to their livelihoods, and benefiting in economic, financial and social terms.

If only all our generous donors could see the results of the projects they have funded. They would be astonished. Still, we can now show our past, present and future supporters how their contributions can transform a degraded environment. It is in this corner of the planet we can make the biggest, fastest difference to the future lives of its inhabitants, human and animal – to survive and prosper for the next 102 years and beyond.

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