A poster on the importance of trees by ABCIC, CIC Insurance group and KCA University

1. 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