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Tree planting: a learning experience
Related to country: Uganda

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Tree planting: a learning experience

Abstract
During the last century, the world lost over 80% of its original forests. Every day an area of forest size of a football pitch is being destroyed, about 2000 trees are cut down per minute. As youth leaders and teachers we need to instill a culture of resource conservation among young people, involve them in tree planting activities where they can about trees.

As forests are being cut to get land for farming and fuel i.e. charcoal for cooking, forest ecosystem is being destroyed where all other ecosystem depend. The only way to preserve our ecosystem, tree planting should be done in areas where trees are cut to also avoid desertification.
All stakeholder should take participate especially young people in schools, who may do it for fun and learn at the same time. This learning can be as follows;
· Types of trees
Students can learn about the different types of tree there is i.e. eucalyptus, pine, and cedar e.t.c.
· Gestation period
They can learn how long they take to reach maturity i.e. some take 70-200 years like Dalbergia Melanoxylon known as Black wood.
· Landscape suitability
They will know which tree can best grow in a given landscape i.e. there are two types of eucalyptus , one can grow well in dry lands and the other in wetlands, so if they are interchanged the later will drain the soil if planted in a dry land which is environmentally degrading.
1. Eucalyptus grandis does well in wetlands.

2. Eucalyptus Camaidulensis does well in dry lands
· Herbal trees
Students should know that some trees are of medical value, it is very important they preserve them like Mango tree e.t.c
· Pest or Vector control trees
They are certain trees that repel pests and vectors these trees if planted in our compounds can chase away mosquitoes, snakes like Nim trees.
· Fruit trees
Students will learn that certain trees provide fruits which can be consumed like guavas, mangoes, Jackfruit e.t.c. which can reduce famine.
· Trees with cultural values
There are some trees that are of cultural value like Bark cloth trees, these trees where used by Baganda people long ago to make Bark cloth. This bark cloth is worn at traditional ceremonies and used to wrap corpses before they are buried to date. Such cultures need to be preserved as we protect the cutting and encourage the planting of such trees.

References
1. CHUWA: the man Behind Blackwood project, www.africaconservation.org/guardian
2. Plant for the planet campaign, www.unep.org/children_youth/campaign
3. The sustainable forestry Handbook, S. Higman, S. Bass, N. Judd, J. Mayers and R. Nussbaum, 2000, Earth Scan

November 21, 2007 | 5:21 AM Comments  0 comments

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