HABITAT RESTORATION
Habitat restoration and habitat protection is at the core of our work and features throughout all our projects. We started our tree planting events in 2017 and have continued to plant trees each year, at sites around the country.
RWCA believes in the importance of planting indigenous trees as a way promoting the best opportunities for biodiversity within Rwanda. RWCA has established an indigenous tree nursery and has a Botanist on staff to develop our knowledge and expertise on different species. We also encourage planting of tree species that also help focal wildlife species such as roost trees preferable to Grey Crowned Cranes and other birds, as well as those favoured by bats.
Growing Trees
RWCA focuses on ‘growing trees’ rather than ‘planting trees’, recognising the importance of caring for trees over time and monitoring them as they grow and creating a sense of ownership among communities. This includes watering saplings, adding manure, weeding and protection of the planting sites so that saplings are not destroyed by grazing animals for example. This approach to tree planting is key to the long-term success and impact of our activities.
Communities
RWCA believes in the importance of engaging and involving communities in all the work we do, allowing them to better understand the need to protect our environment as well as find ways to find mutual benefit from it. In all our tree planting activities, community members are involved in preparing the grounds and planting activities, many of whom benefit financially from the work.
We have also involved children in the events, mainly from our environmental clubs. All our events involve an element of education and raising awareness about the importance of indigenous trees and the need to grow and protect them.
CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION
Another concept that we are developing and has huge potential to be scaled up is using Conservation Agreements in habitat restoration to involve community members in payment for ecosystem services. The communities are responsible for restoring areas by planting and growing indigenous trees and we connect them with companies who want to donate money for carbon offsetting. The community members sign an agreement that they will be paid a small stipend for growing the trees and protecting the area. Please contact us if you are a company, organisation or individual and interested in our habitat restoration programmes for carbon offsetting.
RWCA’S INDIGENOUS TREE NURSERY
We have established a tree nursery for indigenous tree species in Rwanda so that we can more easily supply our own tree planting events, as well as support other organisations, companies and individuals with access to indigenous trees for their projects. With trained and experienced botanists on our staff team, we are working hard to understand the different species, develop best practices and know which regions of the country are best suited to different species – this helps us increase the survival rate of our planted trees. We are also developing a seed bank to ensure that these important tree species do not die out.