March is the start of a rainy season in East Africa. For Community Tree Planting farmers, it's a great time for growing seedlings! As the rains start, the seedlings are put into the earth to grow into trees.
For more updates like this one, follow Wren on Twitter and Instagram.
March is the start of a rainy season in East Africa. For Community Tree Planting farmers, it's a great time for growing seedlings! As the rains start, the seedlings are put into the earth to grow into trees.
Hello seedlings! A Community Tree Planting farmer from the Kyaruganda Cluster in Uganda prepares pinus patula and gravellia seedlings in the cluster's nursery. Once the seedlings are prepared, they will raise them up on raised seed beds.The Makomboki Tea Company in Thika, Kenya, has adopted a conservation best-practice called Raised Seed Beds. The idea is to raise seedlings above the ground so that their roots don't grow into the soil underneath, creating the potential for damage to the root ball when transplanting.Farmers from Kiang'ondu, Kenya, gathered to care for their trees and nursery. Nurseries care for seedlings before they're planted in the ground, increasing their chance of survival. Farmers start nurseries as businesses that provide other farmers with happy seedlings. Nurseries offer farmers an additional source of income while providing their neighbors with the ability to plant trees!Pine seedlings germinating at the Hamurwa Cluster's nursery in Uganda. Farmers choose what kind of trees they plant, often selecting a variety of fruit and nut trees as well as species that hold water, block wind and reduce erosion. Each farm is unique and species vary widely depending on local needs and climate.Since many farmers grow only a few varieties of trees in their nurseries, they get to swap seedlings with each other. The Vota Cluster met for their March cluster meeting and farmers shared seedlings around. Sharing information and resources has allowed farmers to build a resilient network of Small Groups that work together to plant trees on their farms and in their community.
That's it for this update. As always, you can reply directly to this email if you have any questions. Stay safe! 🧡
