Your Company Forest in action in Uganda

Through your Company Forest, your organisation will plant trees and restore ecosystems in vital landscapes across three countries. Here’s what that work is achieving in Uganda.

Uganda: why it matters

Uganda’s landscapes span the slopes of the Rwenzori Mountains, the ancient woods of Bwindi and the highland forests of Mount Elgon. These are remarkable ecosystems, but they’re also fragile places: steep terrain erodes easily, rainfall patterns are shifting quickly and the communities who depend on forests for food, water and income are bearing the brunt of a changing climate. Restoring these forests is a lasting investment we can make in both the land and the people who depend on it.

3 women, one with a baby on her back plant a tree together to restore degraded Ugandan landscapes

How we plant trees here

We work alongside local community organisations to identify sites where restoration will do the most lasting good. Your Company Forest will plant trees in our project in Kasese District, in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains, run in partnership with local group, Alpha Women Empowerment Initiative. The district’s steep terrain leaves it particularly exposed to soil erosion and landslides – risks that a changing climate is making worse. Here, planting trees is not just about restoration, it’s about securing lives and livelihoods.

Women bends of seedlings in a vibrant Ugandan nursery, ensuring each is thriving

The trees we plant

Last year we exceeded our planting targets for Uganda, restoring 44 hectares of degraded land across the Rwenzori, Bwindi and Mount Elgon regions. We prioritise species that suit the conditions of each site and provide a range of benefits to local households and ecosystems. At Kasese, this includes pawpaw and grafted mango trees, alongside agroforestry species chosen for their ability to improve soil health and support farming households.

How we look after them

Unlike many large-scale planting programmes, we focus on careful species selection, proper site preparation and ongoing maintenance by the community members involved in the project. So far, thanks to businesses like yours, we’ve planted 12,250 trees in this project and we ensure careful ongoing maintenance, regular watering and protection from grazing animals, in partnership with communities who have a genuine stake in seeing these trees grow.

a breath-taking view of the landscapes ITF is restoring in the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains

How these trees will help

Stability against landslides

On Kasese’s steep hillsides tree roots can do vital work: anchoring soil, slowing the surface flow of rainwater and reducing the risk of landslides that threaten communities below. The 12,250 trees planted through Company Forest investments are part of the district's natural defence against a landscape that, without them, would become increasingly unstable as the climate changes.

Water

As Daniel Misaki, an environmental leader in western Uganda who has spent years working to restore damaged landscapes, explains, “The whole water cycle depends on trees – they help form the rain, store it in the soil and push it back to the atmosphere.” At Kasese, the trees being planted are playing that same stabilising role for the rivers and streams that people depend on.

Climate

Across the world, especially in the places we’re planting trees, natural disasters are intensifying and countless species are threatened with extinction, but it’s not too late to act. Trees are the shade-givers, crop-helpers, drought-stoppers and planet-coolers that are vital to places like Uganda, where farmers and communities are trying to become more resilient to the changing rainfall patterns and longer dry seasons that they’re experiencing.

ITF staff member sits with schoolgirl to plant a tree together

And that’s not all…

The impact of a Company Forest in Uganda goes well beyond the trees themselves.

When Salome Muhindo received 116 seedlings from Alpha Women Empowerment Initiative – a mix of fruit trees and agroforestry species – she planted and tended to them carefully. Before long, they were ready.

“I’ve started harvesting pawpaws," she says. "They're earning me a good income.”
With another 28 grafted mango trees also growing, she’s hoping for more fruit to come.

Salome’s story is one of many in the Kasese District. Long-standing cultural barriers have often made it harder for women here to earn an income or take part in decisions about the land they depend on, but we’re working with local partners to help change that. Company Forest donations are supporting the delivery of agroforestry training for women and girls, then providing hands-on roles in planting and caring for the trees around them.

Across Uganda more broadly, ITF’s work is advising communities in building village savings groups, starting small businesses and developing new sources of income alongside the trees they plant. We’re helping schools too: at Bulembia Primary School pupils are already harvesting pawpaws from trees they planted, while at Royal Ranges Secondary School, students are studying in the shade of a canopy that was not there a few years ago.

bountiful harvest of pawpaw's growing on a young tree

Start your Company Forest

All of this thanks to your Company Forest.

Every £2 donated plants a tree which is monitored, maintained and reported on for years to come while providing holistic benefits back to the community who plant it.

As a Company Forest partner, you will receive regular updates and stories from the landscapes your investment is restoring – everything you need to share this positive impact with your teams, customers and stakeholders.

To find out what a Company Forest could look like for your organisation, get in touch today.

Start planting trees

ITF in numbers

Over 100 years of community-led restoration

Over 8.8 million trees planted in the last 12 years

759 hectares of forest conserved or restored in 2025

0 shareholders - ITF is a registered charity, so no profit is taken out and every pound you invest stays in the mission.

Support for50 local community organisations to increase their forestry and agroforestry capacity

80% or higher tree survival rate across all our projects thanks to our participatory monitoring and GIS data

Progress on 8 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, delivering benefits for people and the planet.

Your Company Forest will also plant trees in Tanzania and Kenya. Discover the impact these projects have:

Tanzania‍
Kenya

Why businesses choose ITF

“Partnering with the ITF lets us turn our values into action, every tree planted is a small step toward a healthier planet, and that's something Strand Europe Ltd is proud support.”

Strand Europe