Boulogne-sur-Mer forest, France, April 2022
Affected by ash dieback, some forests are dying out in Hauts-de-France (northernmost region of the country) to such an extent that the National Forests Office (ONF) has, from time to time, forbidden access out of concerns for the safety of hikers. This project has two objectives: to replace trees that will die and educate children in the region about environmental protection by planting 2,880 trees.
The project has a strong educational component since pupils from nearby schools have taken part in a half-day planting session, as well as discovering the world’s forests in class with their teachers and exchanging with students from Togo, who will also be participating in the same activities.
Through the partnership between Kinomé, ONF and A Tree for You, the project aims to plant 2,880 perennial trees in France and 5,760 trees in Togo with the active involvement of these schoolchildren.
In France, the planting started on 19 February 2021, near La Capelle-lès-Boulogne, with the pupils from École des Poètes (primary school) involved in the project. The day before planting, the pupils attended a presentation to remind them of the issues at stake for planting and highlight the importance of forests worldwide, especially in Togo. In total, four classes and around 90 children from École des Poètes in La Capelle Les Boulogne took part in planting around 840 trees on one of the two plots of land.
Teams from the ONF took charge of planting the remaining seedlings. A total of 3,600 seedlings were planted with the aim of establishing 2,880 trees in Boulogne-sur-Mer Forest over the long term.
Since then, maintenance and monitoring of the plantation is ongoing. In March 2022, ONF technicians visited the two plots (80 and 82) to observe the survival rate of the trees planted – which is very good and exceeds the expected objective! Indeed, on plot 80, the survival rate is over 90%; on plot 82, 93%.
For the young trees, the ONF technicians recorded a browsing rate of over 50%. Tree browsing is when wildlife eats brushwood and young trees and so deforms them. It is now used as an indicator of the relationship between the forest and game. The browsing has not damaged the young trees and is also good news for another reason – it confirms that wild game is returning to this reforested land.
There will be no maintenance work in 2022 since the competing vegetation is not harming the young trees.
In Togo, as part of the environmental protection, twinning project between French and Togolese schools, several activities took place in 2021 and the beginning of 2022, with the technical support from the local NGO Inades-Formation.
In total, five classes participated in the project activities. The planting in Togo started on 22 June 2021, on Togo’s Arbor Day, and continued throughout the summer. Reforestation was carried out on various sites, namely: the estates of partner schools, public squares, roadsides, and plots of land owned by pupils’ parents.
The pupils planted several species, including khaya, flax, teak, cocoa, terminal, and moringa. Moringa was chosen for three main reasons: to contribute to the nutritional needs of the children with its leaves; sell the seeds to raise money for the school; and contribute to protecting the environment.
Field monitoring, which took place in November 2021, revealed a good survival rate for the young trees of over 80%!
In the summer 2021, the French and Togolese schoolchildren received letters from their pen pals. These letters, drawings and other creative work have enabled them to discover each other and learn more about their respective forests.
The next steps, in 2022, are maintenance and monitoring of the trees planted.
