TREE PLANTING HOLIDAY EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR AFRICAN SAFARI
We are very lucky to live in Kenya, where there are beautiful woods of acacia trees, groves of exotic baobab trees, the beautiful sycamore fig tree, and mangroves that protect us. People honor these grand and old trees in ceremonies, customs, and the beautiful scenery that greets you on safari.
But sadly, things like climate change, cutting down trees, wildfires, and even the Corona pandemic have made our ecosystems much weaker and cut down a lot of the trees that used to grow well in our parks and woods.
So badly do we need to plant new trees that Kenya’s government has approved a national effort to plant 15 billion trees by 2030 to restore our forests.
You can help with this effort by giving up a little time on your safari. Imagine getting to enjoy nature and then helping the plants and animals that live there stay alive. We’ll show how below.
How bad is cutting down trees in East Africa?
People have been trees’ worst enemy for a very long time. For fuel and protection, we have cut down trees without discrimination, resulting in half as many trees on Earth as there were before.
Up to 80% of the trees in the Masai Mara have been cut down. This has had an effect on the animals, as many of them depend on the leaves of the trees for food.
Even the animals that eat other animals are less safe when the forests don’t grow as much. Big cats need places to hide and keep their young safe when they are first born. The loss of protective forest growth makes it harder for their numbers to survive.
Many forest areas across the country have become smaller because of climate change. Most recently, forest fires on the slopes of Mt. Kenya destroyed countless acres of forest.
Here are some eco-friendly things you can do on your safari.
Luckily, we’re more aware of the environment now, and the tourism business has stepped up to help forests get better now and in the future.
When you book your trip through Africa Kenya Safaris, we can put you in touch with eco-friendly hotels, cabins, and tented camps that have tree-planting programs that you can join.
You might plant native trees, collect seeds, get rid of exotic species, compost, and mulch as part of the program.
Depending on where you stay, other tasks could include events that help the community, like planting trees with the local schools or towns.
They are exactly what they sound like: a seed inside a ball of charcoal dust, with a healthy, water-soluble material in the middle to hold it all together. This is the newest and most creative way to get a lot of seeds to a lot of people quickly and cheaply.
The charcoal covering keeps the seeds safe from rats, birds, insects, and high or low temperatures until water from the outside world seeps into the ball and starts the seeds to grow.
They are being spread all over Kenya, both on the ground and in the air. This way of planting seeds is so simple and easy that the seedballs come with directions that say “just throw and grow.”
Even if it’s dry outside, the biochar layer on the seedballs protects the seeds until it rains hard. When it does, it turns into a moist medium that helps the seed sprout. This is a great and easy way to bring new life to our woods and fields.
Please help There are forests in Karura and Ngong Road.
You don’t have to look very hard to find jobs that will help planting trees. The Karurua and Ngong Road Forests, which are on the edges of Nairobi, our capital city, are great examples of big urban parks that have grown better since trees were planted again.
Karura is a city park where you can walk, ride a bike, hike, and jog. It also has an indigenous tree and plant nursery that grows 100,000 seedlings. You can help plant trees in the park, which has been doing a great job of restoring many acres of land over the last few decades.
These efforts to fix up the Ngong Road Forest are also starting right now, and it’s easy for you to join in. We and our partners can set up a time for you to plant trees at these parks and others close. Let us know if you’re interested.
Naturally Bring Our Forests Back to Life
Huge efforts are being made to bring our woods back to life. These efforts not only help protect and improve our natural habitat, which helps wildlife and makes the land look nicer, but they also help the local economies.
If you plant trees in a planned way, you’ll have a steady supply of wood for building materials. In other words, woods will not be cut down without a plan, which would destroy habitats and watersheds that are very important.
We can protect the natural world’s beauty and ability to support life by restoring our fields and forests. This is good for our parks, our towns, and our planet.
