A million trees to energize DR Congo's rainforest

The end of 2022 and the planting of the 2 millionth tree brought us closer to our goal of restoring 10,000 hectares of land by 2025 and bringing degraded lands back into productivity in the Yangambi landscape in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

To support ongoing restoration efforts in the landscape, our environmental education programme is working with schools in Yangambi to strengthen the knowledge of primary and secondary school students on sustainable management, community forestry and wildlife conservation.

‘Raising awareness in landscape schools is an essential activity to ensure the sustainability of the efforts undertaken by the project and the future of sustainable development in this region. Since 2019, the program has organized several activities that aim to promote the development of communities in a healthy natural environment that favors the active participation of children and young people for responsible and balanced management of the forest and its resources’, says Joelle Grandjean, Head of the environmental education program.

DRC’s national tree day provided the perfect opportunity to celebrate the importance of trees and raise awareness in the local community about forest management and conservation in a festive setting. This year's celebration was hosted by the Manzikala primary school where a drawing competition on the trees of the forest and an introductory workshop on the importance of trees was organized. Moreover, a rainwater harvesting system and a school nursery housing fruit tree seedlings were installed in the school premises while local inhabitants received avocado tree seedlings.

In this last trimester, the importance of trees in providing alternative income to local communities through activities such as beekeeping became tangible with the opening of Yangambi’s first ever honey house!

We appreciate your support all through 2022 and look forward to more achievements in 2023.

Happy New Year!