MyWeku

The rapidly declining forest cover in Africa is a cause for great worry, with countries at the margins of the Sahara engaged in a furious battle to stave off desertification- the Sahara is advancing! In Kenya the forest cover has drastically reduced from 40 percent to 6.1 percent, leading to longer and longer drought cycles; dams are running dry and the perpetual power and water rationing are just some of the implications. Of course climate change is blamed for the frequent famines, but if we care to admit, a great deal of it is due to environmental dilapidation and mismanagement.

When Myweku.com heard about a group of university students who are adopting trees, our immediate thought was, how now? The students from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Nairobi are not only planting the trees, but plan to nurture them to maturity. Their mission is to ensure that tree planting missions do not end the moment seedlings are planted. Manda Njoroge, one of the students says in most cases people plant trees but have no attachment to them at all, so most trees die and no one is bothered.

“Tree planting missions have been going on for a long time and the exercise ends the moment an individual plants a tree”.

The students applied to the Kenya Forestry Service to adopt land in Kenya’s Mau forest Complex and were given exclusive rights to adopt two and half acres of land. They found a perfect location in a depleted forest area and have already planted 1200 seedlings. For the next three to five years the students will take care of the seedlings, monitoring their growth, watering them during dry seasons and replanting.

The group believes that the best way to connect peoples lives to nature is by making it part of them. Adopting forestland is a great way to make nature part of the family. The movement of planting trees must begin at all levels and every individual must feel responsible and accountable. The reason why forests are being plundered is because they are far removed from the people and nobody cares.

They idea, they suggest, must be adopted by the corporate world all over, in which case the forest cover would increase to the required levels, besides creating employment. They hope to enlighten the youth through their efforts and make them realize the future depends on sustainable environmental management initiatives.

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Writer: Gor Soudan

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