TREES for LIFE

1. Trees have economic value

2. Trees are of environmental importance

3. Trees have social, cultural and religious value

IMPORTANCE OF TREES

timber,

pulp and

paper

fire wood,

charcoal

fruits, nuts,

berries,

roots

nectar,

honey, bark

clean air

habitat for

wildlife

soil

conservation

photosynthesis

balance of CO2

and O2

water

catchments

beauty,

aesthetic

value

sites of

worshipping,

cultural practices

shade

boundaries,

homesteads

SETTING UP A TREE NURSERY

Select a site for your tree nursery that:

1. Is accessible

2. Has adequate all year supply of water

3. Is secure from animal/ human or mechanical threats

1. Site selection

2. Tree nursery lay-out

2. Fill perforated potting bags

with fertile soil (forest soil or

normal soil mixed with

organic manure) and

arrange the filled bags in a

row of 1m wide.

3. Prick out the young

seedlings into the filled

potting bags.

4. Water twice a day depending on amount of rains.

5. Create a shade for the seedlings to minimize moisture loss.

1. Create a seed bed, which is used to germinate seeds using

sand placed either in large perforated containers (plastic/

metallic) or made of concrete stones on the sides, but

underneath should be open.

3. Tree planting procedure

1. Select the right tree species for the purpose: e.g. shade tree,

fruit tree, ornamental/ beauty tree, boundary marking, shelter

belt/ wind break, plantation forest or indigenous forest. Take

care to ensure the site is secure from animal and human

mechanical damage.

2. The tree seedling should have a height of around two feet.

As you carry or handle the tree seedling, hold it from the

base of the potting bag to avoid uprooting. On the morning of

tree planting water the tree seedling adequately.

6. Avoid water logging to

prevent damping off.

7. Weed for the seedling as

regularly as possible to

minimize competition.

8. Nurse tree seedlings in the

nursery until they acquire a

height of two feet and have

developed good root

system.

5. Pour a little water on the tree seedling and squeeze on its

sides to loosen the potting bag.

6. Take the tree seedling out from the bag in an upside down

position.

7. Place the tree seedling down into the hole.

8. Using a shovel or your hands slowly return the soil back

starting with the top soil mixed with manure followed by the

sub-soil.

3. Dig a hole 2 feet deep by 2

feet wide. As you dig place

the top soil on one side and

the sub-soil on the other side

of the hole.

4. Mix the top soil with organic

manure or compost manure.

10.Fill back the soil until the planted tree is fully covered, without

covering the branches or leaves. Create a small basin-like

surface at the base of the tree, this will ensure water does not

run off from the base of the planted tree. Using dry grass or

other organic matter, mulch the base of the tree. This will

retain water and minimize runoff and water loss by

evaporation.

11.Water the tree adequately immediately after planting.

12.Using any material (e.g. thorny shrubs branches) you can

erect a barrier around the tree to protect it from animals or

human mechanical damage.

13.If the rains are not adequate, water the planted tree at least

three times in a week in the evenings or early morning.

9. Pour a little water into the

base of the hole to wet its

base and surface.

ABCIC would like to thank CIC Insurance Group for funding the development of

this poster

For more information: African Biodiversity Conservation and Innovations Centre, PO Box

100882 – 00101, +254 720 52 98 84, Nairobi, Kenya, www.abcic.org, info@abcic.org