Children drive school tree planting in Kasese, Uganda

Project update

28 Jul

Written By Paul Kihato, Africa Programme Support Officer.

I made my second monitoring visit to ITF projects in Uganda in June, a year after my first visit. Traversing from Mt. Elgon in Eastern Uganda to Rwenzori Mountains in Western Uganda and to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in South Western Uganda, I enjoyed breath-taking landscapes. From the magnificent Nile River, the world’s longest river that originates from Lake Victoria, to undulating hills, rich wildlife in Queen Elizabeth National Park and a network of lakes and wetlands. And in each location, I was greeted by the vibrant cultures of the different rural communities.

In the midst of these wonderful experiences, I was extremely thrilled to see schoolchildren transforming their schools by planting and protecting trees using local strategies and innovations.

Amazingly, the trees planted in schools and managed by children have much higher survival rates than in other sites managed by adults such as on farms and in the forest sites. Some schools have recorded 100% survival!

*School children in Madongo, Primary School, Bulembia Primary School and Royal Ranges Secondary School happily pose for a photo with the thriving trees they planted in their schools*

Before ITF introduced the school greening programmes in Kasese, Uganda, many of the school grounds were bare. This is was largely due to the fact that public schools have meagre financial resources and they have to prioritise other school needs like meals and books. But now the schools with ITF projects are enjoying the multiple benefits of trees.

Rural schools do not have dining halls and usually, children take their meals in the fields. The trees are providing shade spots where children, especially those in lower grades sit, while having their lunch.

On top of that, pawpaw trees are already fruiting providing additional nutrition to children. The reduced dust in schools, thanks to the trees, have improved cleanliness and incidents of eye and throat irritation. And, because the planting sites are used as platforms for experiential learning, students are doing better in related subjects like biology and agriculture.

Innovative tree protection strategies devised by school children. Left: banana fibres woven baskets, right recycled plastic bottles

On my visit to Madongo Primary School, the headteacher told me that she is proud of her students, having been ranked the best in the district in school greening and environmental conservation. She attributed this achievement to ITF tree planting interventions in the school.

There is clear sense of environmental stewardship among children with many being proactive in planting and protecting the trees. I was particularly mesmerized by use of different protection structures including use of wooden props, life fences, woven baskets and even recycling plastic bottles to secure young trees from goats and sheep. Children have also developed personal relationships with trees and plant trees to mark their birthdays.

In all the schools implementing the projects, the staff and students are united by the trees since this is a common activity across all grades. Teachers told me that they are appreciative of how trees transform learning and also develops young leaders who can take action to solve local problems using locally available resources.

This visit was quite fulfilling to me having to see first-hand, the social economic and environmental changes in the schools one year since my first visit. These initiatives have provided lessons learnt and best practices that we hope to be able to replicate to other schools we don’t yet work with.