Good Morning TREES Members and Friends of the Organization
Chances are that you are enjoying a good cup of joe as you review our activities for the month of March. Whether this is a cold drink, hot drink, black, or one of those drinks that takes at least 7 words to order at your local coffee shop, you can taste the difference between good and bad quality. We work with coffee growers around the world that bring you good quality coffee and restore the environment by growing coffee in its natural conditions - under trees. A recent trip to the Philippines has shown how great the need is for people living in coffee-growing communities. Please read more about our activities with coffee growers and others in the . . . | Hot News - Vote for 2 MILLION Trees
- News from the Field
The Philippines - Bringing Barako Back
East Africa - Addressing Erosion
East Africa - Planting Trees for the Kabaka
Senegal - Riverbanks and Gardening
- An Amazing Group of Students
- Go Green Expos
- Support Our Business Partners - Support Our Planet
- TREES Project Pictures on FLICKR
- TREES is on Skype
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Planting Gliricidia seeds for alley cropping, Imiliwaha, Tanzania
Azerildo and Paulo – Moringa live fence, Brazil
| Vote for 2 MILLION Trees
How about a TWO MILLION TREE OPPORTUNITY? Green Mountain Coffee is offering several grants of $200,000 each for environmentally beneficial projects. TREES has submitted a proposal to assist coffee growers cooperatives in Ethiopia by developing "shade-grown" coffee along with other livelihood opportunities, especially organic honey production, where the bees have also proven to boost coffee harvests as much as 60%.
You can help TREES get this grant by voting here. We are only 200 votes behind the lead project in our category, but everyone is rallying votes in the final push before voting closes on March 21st. Your vote for us will help upland families rebuild their lands in coffee growing communities around the world. Thanks for your help.
News from the Field
The Philippines - Bringing Barako Back
Grace, Francis and Dave Deppner spent the past few weeks visiting project sites in the northern Philippines. Our local partner, TREES/Philippines, has joined with six other concerned organizations to expand the program into new communities. The Department of Environment has given over some additional denuded land to the local communities, for a 25 year renewable lease providing the land is again covered with trees. One town is restoring an old logging trail to allow the program to move higher into the mountains.
The group has also been offered as many coffee seedlings as they can plant among these trees. This Southeast Asia type of coffee was very popular in the US until the supply was cut off by World War II. Here it was called "Java". The Philippine name was "Barako" which, in English, means a wild boar and is not a reference to our new President.
East Africa - Addressing Erosion
On March 7, David Tye, the East Africa Regional Program Coordinator, taught a workshop to members of the Randa United Farmers Group (RUFG) in Bukibokolo Sub-County of Bududa District, Uganda. The Director of RUFG, Moses Khauka was critical in preparing and organizing the workshop, which had approximately 30 participants of both men and women farmers from the community.
The environment of Randa Village has had extensive soil erosion due to farming on marginal lands, including step hillsides. The most important project that farmers in the Bukibokolo Sub-County can undertake to improve crop production is to contour and then terrace their farms, to counter the extensive soil erosion. During the workshop, David demonstrated construction of the A-Frame, which is used to contour hillsides. After he explained how to plant tree seedlings, such as Calliandra calothyrsus, on the newly-established contours, he explained how the farmers need to stabilize the soil, by planting grasses in front of the contour rows for the first year. Following the first year of growth, the roots of the tree are strong enough that the grasses can then be removed. The training was a big success with several farmers expressing interest in adopting this technique immediately.
East Africa - Planting Trees for the Kabaka
On Saturday, March 14th, the East Africa Regional Coordinator, David Tye, accompanied the Bugandan Minister of Youth and Environment, Ms. Florence Nkalubo, along with Mathius Lukwago and Vincent Okullu-Ayor to Kayunga District northeast of Kampala, Uganda. The Kabaka (Bugandan King) has requested and encouraged the planting of trees on his land throughout southern Uganda. Trees for the Future funded the tree planting project, which was facilitated by Mathius Lukwago. Approximately 100 youths from the nearby secondary school assisted the entourage in planting approximately 2,000 trees. An additional 3,000 trees will be planted in nearby areas over the coming weeks as the rains begin in March. Minister Nkalubo was very pleased with the event and hopes to work with Trees for the Future in the upcoming years to continue to plant trees throughout Uganda.
Senegal - Riverbanks and Gardening
This past month TREES's Africa Program Coordinator, Ethan Budiansky, and Business Partnership Coordinator, Gabriel Buttram, recently traveled to Senegal to evaluate and develop our program for 2009. They spent half the time in Kedougou where TREES local technician, Karamba Diakhaby, is partnering with Peace Corps volunteers to work with farmers to plant trees throughout their fields and gardens. Many of the gardens are situated on degraded banks where rich topsoil is quickly eroding into the Gambia River. To begin the restoration process, Karamba and his Peace Corps counterpart will assist farmers to plant live fences around their fields and hedgerows along the contours of the bank to protect the soil against erosion.
The rest of the time was spent in Kaffrine, where Trees for the Future has been assisting farmers to plant trees and develop sustainable gardening practices for over 5 years! Ethan and Gabe had the opportunity to visit many of the project sites, speak to farmers, and evaluate their dry season gardening activities. In addition, local technician, Omar Ndao, with the help of Peace Corps Volunteers, organized an Agroforestry Workshop on February 28th. Seventy motivated local farmers, both men and women, and eight Peace Corps Volunteers participated. They learned the basics to agroforestry and at the end of the workshop, they received certificates of completion and some materials to get their projects started!
  | |  | Agroforestry Workshop in Ngoudiba | Seedlings in Uganda | Millstone Elementary School
Environmental Group |
An Amazing Group of Students!
Last year, Miriam Li, a 4th grade student at Millstone Elementary School in Plainsboro, New Jersey, knew that she wanted to do something about global warming. She was studying trees in her classes and decided that planting trees would be a great way to make a difference. This past September the school's environmental group, composed of about 20 fourth and fifth graders, decided to raise funds to support planting trees! They spoke about the importance of trees in classes, collected change - often pennies at a time - and sold school supplies made from recycled materials. By Spring they had raised enough money to support the planting of 10,000 trees! Their support is going towards adopting two village programs in Northern India. Last week Gorav Seth, TREES International Programs Coordinator, spent the afternoon with the group talking about trees, and looking through pictures from our programs. It was inspiring to be with such a motivated and creative group, and we want to thank them for all their hard work and support.
Go Green Expos
TREES had a very popular exhibit at the Go Green Expo at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia this past weekend. We will also be looking to make new friends and greet our members at the Go Green Expos in New York City, at The Hilton New York on April 18th and 19th, and in Atlanta, at the Cobb Galleria Centre on June 27th and 28th.
Support Our Business Partners - Support Our Planet
Once again we would like to recognize several businesses that, through their generous contributions, make the work we are doing possible and the world in which we live healthier.
Tonic (formerly Green Dimes), 41 Pounds, Nature’s Grilling, In-Ticketing, Love Heals and Clean Air Gardening have individually planted 150,000 trees or more, some have planted many times more. In addition to the normal goods and services they provide, these conscientious and responsible businesses are taking the care of our planet into their own hands. Together, they have planted well over a million trees.
We encourage our members and donors to learn more about these companies, and to keep them in mind when buying goods and services as they certainly deserve our support. Click here to learn more about all of our business partners.
TREES Pictures Now on FLICKR
TREES has an incredible range of pictures from the past 30 years, and as we distribute more cameras and GPS units to our field representatives, we are receiving more than ever before. We are working hard to put our best pictures from all of our project areas online. You can see our pictures by going to (no logins or passwords needed) http://www.flickr.com/photos/plant-trees/sets/.
TREES is on SKYPE
Our international friends and partners will be happy to know that TREES can be called for free using SKYPE. Our skype name is treesftf - call us! | |
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