Many large tree planting schemes opt to purchase land and plant regimented blocks of mono-culture, either for the carbon market, or for a timber crop. The Mbale Trees Programme differs to that, in that our model is to engage with the communities we work in, in order to increase the resilience of the people and their environment to the threats of climate change.

One of the pivotal roles within the entire programme is that of our tree nursery operators. METGE carefully selects how to site each tree nursery, after considering community enthusiasm, the overall network of nurseries, as well as the environmental and social benefits likely achievable from that site. Once a village is selected, METGE contacts the district environmental officer in order to create links to community members who have a passion for the environment, and who are willing to become part of the team of nursery operators. These nursery operators then grow, nurture, and distribute tree seedlings to local land managers and institutions for free, to plant on their own land.

METGE and its partners operate community run nursery sites across 7 Districts in the Mount Elgon region, 30% of which are managed by empowered women or women groups, and all of which employ local community members, to distribute 90,000 trees of a diverse species mix annually. At nursery sites in areas with higher demand and where our nursery operator is highly skilled, we also operate ‘super-nurseries’ which aim to distribute 180,000 seedlings per year. Through our network of nurseries, 3.2 million trees per year are distributed, for free, for land owners and managers to plant. Most of these trees are planted in agro-forestry systems; for shade to coffee or crops, for bee or livestock fodder, as boundary trees, or as a sustainable source of fuel wood. Fruit trees are also distributed, and are often encouraged in schools and community areas to build food security in the youth. A selection of these fruit trees are planted in the name of the Welsh ‘Plant!’ scheme (plant means ‘children’ in Welsh).