by Mary Wykstra

Last year we planted trees and held a contest between schools. Part of our tree planting commitment was to cattle dip committees. The trees we delivered are a part of a pledge from EcoSys Action to plant trees in Kenya. The good news is that we have assisted in the planting of over 3000 trees to date. And both good and bad, we had a real problem finding indiginous trees to deliver this year.

There are multiple reasons for the lack of indigenous tress. One is that more people planted trees this year. Another is that the tree seeds planted during the drought did not germinate due to lack of water. And finally the number of indigenous trees grown were low due to a lack of understanding of the need to plant indigenous. Fruit trees and those which produce fast return on inveltement were the ones in high demand.

A new challenge in the tree project is the need to encourage trees that are long lasting and geared for environement improvement. Seeds and local medicinal uses are among the benefits of these indigenous trees. Also tying in the need for bees to find acacia pollen for the unique honey flavor only found in this region. Our links with the local community groups should assist us in encouraging the planting of a combination of the fruit and fast growing trees with the long lasting indigenous species. We will need to place an order for the next batch and have to wait until the next long rains to finish our pledge to plant more trees in this area.

Action for Cheetahs in Kenya needs your help. To make a donation, please visit Project Survival – www.cathaven.com/shop/

Visit Eco-Sys Action to learn more about our partnership projects for environment, children and communities- http://www.ecosysfun.com/cheetah.html