Breathing Life Back Into Tanzania: Our Journey To Plant 230 Million Trees

Jeshua Cardenas03/10/2023

In our quest to make a difference, ForestNation has ventured into Tanzania with a crucial task at hand. Our mission? Planting 230 million trees in this biodiversity hotspot, one of the most critically deforested regions in the world.

History

The United Republic of Tanzania became independent in 1964 when Zanzibar and Tanganyika merged. Often referred to as “The Cradle of Civilization,” northern Tanzania is where the oldest human skull was found.The citizens hold general elections every five years to name their leaders, even with 90% of Tanzanians living in rural areas. Over 120 tribal groups are represented across the country.

Geography

Tanzania is the largest of all countries in East Africa and is bordered by the Indian Ocean. Once entirely bush and savanna, the landscape is now semidesert. The country is home to over 400 million wild animals, which include zebras, giraffes, lions, wildebeests, crocodiles and giant turtles. In addition, Tanzania boasts the largest population of elephants that remain.

5 Fast Facts About Tanzania

Jane Goodall completed her famous chimpanzee studies in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park.
Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park has changed very little in over a million years, earning it the title of one of the oldest ecosystems on Earth.
Swahili and English are the official languages of Tanzania, though over 100 more languages are also spoken.
Tanzania is home to the tallest mountain in Africa—Mount Kilimanjaro, which stands nearly 6,000 meters above sea level.
The wildlife in Tanzania represents over 400 different species of animals.

Why 230 million, you ask?

It’s not just about shoving a bunch of trees into the earth; it’s about safeguarding the future, creating jobs, ensuring food security and instilling a sense of stewardship for Mother Earth among local communities.

💡Get more insights about this tree planting project here>>

The Right Tree for the Right Purpose

We’re mindful about our choice of trees. Together with agroforestry techniques, we plant a mix of Indigenous tree species for land recovery, Fruit trees for community income, and Woodlot products used as timber offtake.

We’re running this massive venture in Tanzania with a small but committed team of 5 tree nursery establishment instructors. We initiated the project in our base tree nursery, then branching out to four primary school nurseries funded by ForestNation, 4H million trees, African rainforest conservancy, and Friends of Usambara. We painstakingly sowed seeds from a variety of trees including Albizia Pine, Makhamea, Eucalyptus, Griveria and even fruit trees such as avocado, peas, plum, and apple. But our duty doesn’t end at sowing; we lovingly care for each one until they’re ready to be transplanted to new homes.

Empowering Local Community

Most of our nursery staff are women! Essentially, they’re taking care of tree growth, transporting and planting saplings, and also harvesting produce for family consumption and selling purposes.

Through focused efforts, we’ve produced a whopping 523,672 tree seedlings, now safely housed in tubes across all five tree nurseries. What’s especially gratifying is how we’ve involved school kids in all aspects of this project. From preparing nurseries to transplantation, these children are using hands-on experience to build on the skills learned in classroom sessions. Schools like Kitopeni, Mhelo, Kwesimu, and Kwembago are home to these new tree nurseries, with twenty more schools, including Mbula “A”, Mbula “B”, and Kweshindo, eager to participate.

Economic Impact

We provide fruit, Moringa, Coffee seedlings to families to plant on their farms, which upon maturation, generate a regular income for them. In the 2020-21 planting season, our farmers earned $173 for every 100 trees planted!

Community Empowering Initiatives

There’s the 🌲 Green Schools Program imparting education and promoting reforestation, tree planting along riverbanks ensuring a fresh water supply, sourcing timber for the local wood industry, and enhancing natural resources for better crops.

Our next step is to transfer knowledge about tree raising, nursery management, and maintenance to these new schools and multiply the impact. At some schools, we will even supply the seeds to keep nourishing their nascent tree nurseries.

In the next few months, we anticipate transplanting more than 60,000 seedlings in the Mkuzu river valley and 35,000 in Jegastal watershed, among other locales. We’re also fulfilling a request from the district forest department to supply 150,000 tree seedlings for plantation along public roads. This initiative has a dual purpose- besides green cover, it will combat road bank erosion.

One initiative that brings us immense satisfaction is working with the villagers of Maguzoni and Yoghoi, who are extremely passionate about our efforts. They turned up with hoes and spades, ready to contribute when we carried a similar project earlier. Remarkably, they believe these trees are for their future and didn’t ask for any rewards.

ForestNation Certified

We’re aligned with the “Plant for the Planet” Trillion Tree Campaign by the United Nation’s Environment Programme’s (UNEP), contributing towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

How We Fund?

Companies can become stakeholders in this project. Returns on investments are possible through ForestNation gifts and services and Carbon Credit Opportunities.

Our efforts have begun to crystallize, and community awareness has seen a dramatic improvement. This change even earned us a certificate of appreciation from the government. Local schools too were awarded certificates of honor for their contribution to nature conservation and environment protection. Recognition like this wouldn’t be possible without the cooperation of ForestNation, 4H million trees, African rainforest conservancy. Through persistent collaboration, we aim to bring more significant changes to the Mountains’ nature.