What's the cost of planting a tree?

I’m often asked what the cost of planting a tree is. That’s not always a straightforward question and I wanted to briefly share an example to explain.

I was in Kenya this month spending time with the team, visiting rural communities to see up close the work that we are supporting and to meet with local leaders and community members to hear about the benefits for them. One area I visited was on the slopes of Mount Kenya and it demonstrates some of the costs of planting a tree that may not immediately spring to mind.  

Preparing the land

The first step is to prepare the land. The area for reforestation that I visited on the slopes of Mount Kenya is highly degraded. This is elephant territory but their habitat has shrunk considerably. An invasive weed, Lantana Camara, grows in impenetrable tall thickets on the land – you need a machete, or panga, to get through.

Members of the Community Forest Association with whom we work, have been allocated plots of about half an acre to work on. I stood in one of those cleared plots of land and asked how long it had taken to clear. The answer shocked me.

It had taken 50 days of back-breaking labour! The weed needed clearing, roots and all. 

Growing trees

With the land prepared, the second step is to get the seedling. Rather than buying them from commercial vendors, we support local community tree nurseries so that the money and expertise stay at the local level.

They use local knowledge combined with training to effectively propagate a range of tree species. For the threatened species that we are helping to reintroduce, the first job is to find one of these rare tree species in the forest, wait until it is in seed and then gather the seeds. Those seeds need regular care and attention to germinate and grow, with someone on site year round to care for them. After more than a year they are ready to plant out. 

The third step

The third step is to plant the saplings. Working with government officers and the community we ensure correct species choice and careful planting with appropriate spacing. Holes are dug, the trees planted  but we can’t walk away. There are rangers who ensure that livestock don’t destroy the newly planted saplings. Community members revisit their plots regularly and plant vegetables between the saplings as a valuable source of income.  

James pictured with members of Wezesha Community Based Organisation

Keep coming back

The fourth step is to keep coming back. Survival rates are crucial and the rains had been erratic when I visited and some saplings hadn’t survived. There is the need to restock and keep attending to and monitoring the trees until they are firmly established. After three years, the vegetable planting ceases and nature can takeover.  

And what a joy it was to visit an area that we had supported to be reforested five years ago.

Already the trees have shot up. I stood there and looked up into a green canopy and listened to the sound of birdsong. That forest will provide benefits for the community and for wildlife long into the future. There’s a cost to planting a tree but there’s such a wonder in seeing the result.  

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