Schoolchildren from Capelle-lès-Boulogne (France) and the canton of Agou-Gare (Togo), July 2021
Affected by ash blight, some forests in the Hauts-de-France region are dying, to such an extent the French National Forests Office (Office national des forêts, ONF) has in some cases forbidden access to them to avoid risks to walkers.
The aim of this project is twofold: to replace trees that will die and educate local schoolchildren about helping protect the world’s forests by planting 2,880 trees in France and 7,200 trees in Togo, with the participation of pupils from the primary schools in La Capelle-lès-Boulogne in France and Agotime-Zukpe school in Togo. Thanks to this twinning there was an exchange between the classes, in addition to an educational programme on forests of the world studied throughout the school year.
This project is fully funded and the activities could start, despite a delay of several months because of the Covid-19 health crisis!
Much has happened since the start of the school year in September 2020.
The reforestation plots in France and Togo were selected and soil preparation work carried out.
Pupils from the primary schools in La Capelle-lès-Boulogne and Agotime-Zukpe school in Togo, together with their teachers, discovered and explored activities and educational content about the benefits of trees and forests in the world.
On 18 and 19 February 2021, the A Tree for You team, accompanied by their partner Kinomé, went to meet the pupils in La Capelle-lès-Boulogne. During one day in class, pupils could ask questions about the project, demonstrate the knowledge they had already acquired, and prepared for planting the next day.
On the planting day, technicians from the ONF welcomed the schoolchildren in the forest of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The pupils could see with their own eyes the damage to the forest, gained better understanding of ash dieback (chalara disease), and actively took part in reforesting of a plot of land.
In total, no less than four classes bringing together nearly 90 pupils from Poètes primary school in La Capelle-lès-Boulogne planted approximately 840 trees on the plot of about one hectare of land. Four teachers, eight accompanying parents, and a member of the A Tree For You team, supervised by Kinomé and ONF members, , accompanied the children as they replanted young pedunculate oak, apple and cherry trees.
The nursery class pupils (around 50 children) even joined the older ones to watch them replant the trees!
Between February and June 2021, children from both countries exchanged letters with long lists of questions in order to find out more about each other and their respective forests.
On 4 June 2021, National Tree Day in Togo, 206 pupils from Agotime-Zukpe primary school in the canton of Agou Gare in Togo planted their first trees. The children also received a planting certificates and will have the opportunity to return with their families to show them the planting work.
A total of 7,200 trees were planted in Togo of five different species: caya (Khaya senegalensis), terminalia (Terminalia), teak (Tectona grandis), moringa (Moringa oleifera) and cocoa.
Next steps in the project: monitoring and maintaining the plantations in France and Togo.
To safeguard the the sustainability of the plantations in the Boulogne Forest, the ONF will be monitoring the plot over time. It will also replant if the recovery rate is less than 80%. Thinning will first be carried out when the trees are around 40 years old, age, then every 10 to 15 years to harvest the planted wood.
In Togo, the local correspondent of partner Kinomé (NGO Inades Formation Togo) will organise an annual event with the local schools on in the country’s National Tree Day (in June) and use this opportunity to monitor the trees replanted by the pupils from Agotime-Zukpe school.
