Planting trees for elephants and people alike

Dorothy Naitore stands proudly amongst the tree saplings, explaining how new trees are being planted in her homeland, and the benefits this brings.

At 53 years of age, Dorothy has lived near the Upper Imenti Forest in Meru County, Kenya all her life and has seen the lush abundant forest she grew up with reduced to near desert by people cutting down trees.

The once diverse range of animals and birds that used to live in this rich habitat have also been greatly diminished. The deforestation was so bad that people struggled for food and water. And many of their animals died.

As secretary of Meru Forest Environmental Conservation and Protection (MEFECAP), Dorothy is leading a project to plant trees and restore Upper Imenti Forest. They are also working hard to reverse deforestation by promoting the importance of trees to people in the community. All thanks to the support of people like you.

Planting trees, planting hope

“We have planted 5,000 seedlings already in the first phase of the project,” she says. “We planted southern silky oak, macadamia, hass avocado, grevillea robusta and meru oak because of the many benefits they bring.”

These are trees that will provide shade for people and animals. Their leaves will be used as fodder for goats. Their roots will also reach deep into the earth, releasing minerals from the soil and anchoring it during the rains. And their fruits will be eaten or sold, providing much needed income for farmers.

Supporting women to build sustainable livelihoods

The project has other benefits too. The majority of those taking part in the project are women, who previously had no income and low status within the community. Dorothy is particularly happy that her position as MEFECAP secretary and ITF contact means that she can represent and encourage the women taking part in the project.

The women are learning how to plant seedlings, run a nursery and promote the growth of their trees. They can sell the seedlings they produce or the fruit from the mature trees. This gives them an income with which they can pay their children’s school fees.

The restoration of the forest is also attracting back the wildlife that vanished due to deforestation. The new trees are a source of protection from predators and of fruit and insects to eat.

Overcoming challenges

Dorothy and her team have faced some serious challenges in reforesting the Upper Imenti Forest. One of these is the increasing frequency of long droughts brought on by climate change in the past few years.

Disrupted rainfall patterns have made it for local farmers to predict when to plant, resulting in the loss of valuable crops and tree saplings. Hopefully increasing the amount of tree cover nationally will help moderate this.

Another challenge has been from wildlife, elephants in particular. When resources are scarce, local communities and animals compete for the same sources of water and food.

There are elephants raising their young near Dorothy’s tree planting site. They pose a risk to the new trees as they could very easily trample them. So earlier in the year, strong electric fences were established around planted areas to protect young saplings. This will help keep the elephants away until the saplings are strong enough at which time the fences will be taken down.

Planting saplings was just the first phase in the reforestation project – a lot of work needs to be put in to restore a forest. But Dorothy and her community are committed to seeing it through.