Phase 4 of the Ewaso Lion Tree Project. Last week I traveled to Attan Primary School, which is South of Buffalo Springs National Reserve. This was the 4th school in the area where trees would be planted. 10 teams were formed with 4 students each. Each team of 4 is responsible for planting, protecting and watering their tree. I provided each student with notebooks and rulers to measure their trees weekly and to write any notes about their tree.
The students began digging their holes. There are goats everywhere in Attan! And whilst digging was going on, the goats even ended up in some of the holes as you can see in the photo below.
Eventually the holes were dug, fertilizer collected from the nearby manyattas (homesteads) and planting began. We had a problem with rocks in some areas and we had to relocate the sites. However, eventually all 10 trees were planted, watered and protected with chicken wire.
To date 51 trees have been planted in the area (4 schools and manyattas). I am really enjoying this project and it has been such fun working with the students on this. After each tree-planting, Raphael gives the students a talk on the importance of trees and why they are crucial to a healthy environment. I visit the schools weekly to see the progress and to check that trees are being watered. So far, out of 51 trees, only 4 have failed. 3 were eaten by goats (who crawled under the chicken wire!) and one was chopped off by a student who was trying to sabotage another student’s growing tree! However, all that has been sorted now and with the support of the school committees, the head-teachers and communities, the trees are doing well.
Please do have a look at the project website field diary for entries on the tree planting in 3 other schools (between January and March 2008). Click here: https://www.ewasolions.org/diary.php