Trees for Zambia 2013

In 2012 Greenpop launched Trees for Zambia, a reforestation and eco-awareness project which began with a 3-week tree planting event and was followed by an ongoing campaign to inspire awareness about deforestation, climate change, tree planting, environmental sustainability and alternative energy sources. Trees for Zambia 2013 will be the second Action Event hosted in Livingstone to boost the project and plant around 5000 trees in schools, on subsistence farms and in reforestation sites. Again Greenpop will host educational workshops for school children, subsistence farmers and volunteers. Trees for Zambia is a holistic awareness campaign based on getting people active about making sustainable changes.

From 7th to 28th July 2013, the Trees for Zambia Conference of Action will be held in Livingstone, Zambia. Greenpop invites people, young and old, to come along for 1, 2 or 3 weeks.

Greenpop is also hosting open days/nights where people can come and join in even if they are not camping with the project team:

Schedule of Conference nights:

Thurs 11 July – Conference evening with guest speakers. Theme: Sustainability

Thurs 18th July – Conference evening with guest speakers. Theme: Deforestation

Thurs 25th July – Conference evening with guest speakers. Theme: Eco Tourism

Schedule of Film Screenings:

Tues 16th July – Short & Sweet (a curated night of short films on eco topics)

Tues 23rd July – Short & Sweet (a curated night of short films on eco topics)

Schedule for live music concerts:

Fri 12th July – Live music concert at the Greenpop village at Livingstone Safari Lodge (local & other great African bands)

Fri 26th July – Live music concert at the Greenpop village at Livingstone Safari Lodge (local & other great African bands)

Acts include: Jeremy Loops, Tribute Jabulile Mboweni, Blacklight Panda, Flint – Meet Spark, Yes Rasta, Bobzyouruncle, Chicken Bus Band, That Man’s Band

Trees for Zambia Earth Fest (19th and 20th July)

Fri 19th July – Train party from Livingstone station to the Vic Falls Bridge (DJs and drinks included)

Sat 20th July – Afternoon workshops and evening live music at the Greenpop Village at Livingstone Safari Lodge

Featuring: Jeremy Loops, Chicken Bus Band and more

To book for any of these events, please email [email protected] or call +26(0)96 9540 817

What to expect:

Get Active and Dig – plant trees and make solar cookers at local schools and in national parks

Learn – Attend workshops & lectures on current environmental issues

Educate – Teach children about conserving their natural environment (and learn from them too)

Share – Connect with other like-minded local and international eco-travellers

Explore – Experience the magic of Livingstone, Zambia – home of the majestic Victoria Falls

Zambia: Background and challenges

Zambia has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world and has seen rampant deforestation in recent decades, mainly as a result of bad land management, slash and burn farming methods, unsustainable logging and tree cutting for charcoal. According to the UN-REDD programme, Zambia has approximately 50 million hectares of forest, with an estimated deforestation rate of 250,000 to 300,000 hectares per year.

Implications of Deforestation

The deforestation results in a change in the local ecosystem, loss of biodiversity and increased incidence of both drought and flooding. It also means a decline in food security due to a reduction of agricultural yields and the loss of valuable forest resources. Additionally, women have to walk further to find wood, resulting in less productivity and children being left alone at home.

Drivers of Deforestation

Some of the main drivers of the drastic deforestation are: energy needs and unreliable/unavailable energy sources and thus a growing dependence of charcoal for heating and cooking; unsustainable farming techniques; population demands; and uncontrolled fires, among others.

For a full Concept Note on the Trees for Zambia project, please click here: http://www.greenpop.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Trees-for-Zambia-2013-Concept-Note.pdf

Trees for Zambia 2013 – Aims

1. Create awareness around the deforestation issue and highlight grassroots solutions that can start being implemented

2. Develop a culture of planting trees within communities through conservation education, and by teaching people how to plant and look after trees

3. Highlight the global value of conserving the world’s natural forests

4. Promote and provide alternative energy sources (particularly solar cooking), so that people can move away from the dependence on charcoal

5. Start reforestation in protected forest sites to replace the pioneer trees, allowing for new growth and regeneration of soil content

6. Educate children on their natural environment, and help feed them by planting fruit trees at under-privileged schools and learn from them too

7. Promote conservation farming methods to replace slash and burn techniques that will stop erosion and soil degradation, create more cost-efficient farms and help avoid fires

8. Start a micro tree nursery enterprise at a selected number of subsistence farms, so that we can provide farmers with an additional income by buying trees from them

9. Create an exciting and stimulating programme of practical work, lectures and workshops for local and international volunteers, through which they can educate themselves and be actively involved in environmental issues

During the 2012 Action Event, His Royal Highness Chief Mukuni, of Mukuni Village, Livingstone said:

“Greenpop has my full support. The Kalahari Desert is actually touching us already, and Greenpop is repopulating the forests. I think they are going to help us change the mindset of our people.”

Planned activities for Trees for Zambia include:

• Planting trees – we aim to plant around 5000 indigenous and fruit trees as well as the unique Faidherbia albida and Moringa trees for specific reasons in some areas
• Workshops on Setting up Micro-Nursery Enterprises – Greenpop aims to buy as many trees as possible from local small-scale growers and is encouraging a micro nursery industry.
• Conservation Education at Schools
• Promotion of Conservation Farming Methods (includes planting the Faidherbia albida tree in fields) and Fire Prevention
• Promotion of Alternative Energy Sources (particularly solar energy). Greenpop will focus on this in 2013 and has a new project proposal for developing this further which they hope to attract funding for.
• Radio Awareness Campaign in partnership with Zambezi FM
• Video Awareness Campaign – Greenpop’s media partner Makhulu Moving Images started filming a feature-length documentary on deforestation in Zambia during Trees for Zambia 2012. They are still filming for Falling Forests, Zambia and we hope to create widespread awareness of the challenges through this film.

About Greenpop (www.greenpop.org)

Greenpop is a social enterprise that believes greening and sustainable living can be fun, POPular and accessible for all. We believe in inspiring a greener, more conscious, inclusive movement and do this through tree planting projects, green action events, education, social media, voluntourism and activating people to start DOING! Greenpop started in September 2010 and has since planted over 17,000 trees in over 200 beneficiary schools, crèches, old-age homes, community centres as well as deforested areas in Southern Africa. Creative tree-care programmes have been implemented and children, community members and volunteers are getting their hands dirty, learning a lot and loving it. Greenpop is inspired by the exciting projects we have coming up and the bright green future we see for Africa.

For a summary of what happened at Trees for Zambia 2012, click here

http://www.greenpop.org/projects/trees-for-zambia/