What a difference just 2 years make

7 Sept

Written By International Tree Foundation

Two years ago, we stood at the southwestern edge of Kakamega Forest, a designated Important Bird Area (IBA) and a remnant of the ancient Guineo-Congolian rainforest that once stretched continuously across central Africa, covering millions of square kilometres. That day, at Shamiloli Forest, all we could see was a hillside of possibility.

This was an early stage of the restoration project. Our partners in the local community were working tirelessly in the landscape, planting 80,000 indigenous seedlings into carefully prepared earth. The thriving ecosystem it could become, only really existed in the hands and hopes of 193 women and men from the local Community Forest Association.

Fast forward to today and that bare earth has gone. A canopy has begun to close over and what was once a patchwork of invasive young plants, is now a forest growing up to meet the mature trees behind them.

This work is a clear demonstration of how quickly things can change for the better when local communities are actively involved in the process, but the transformation matters not just for what it looks like, but for what it means.

Restored trees reconnecting with an existing forest improves ecological continuity, creates more of a habitat for local wildlife and helps to stabilise a landscape that’s been under pressure for decades. These interventions also create employment opportunities and support economic empowerment within local communities.