Protect our Kandyan Forests

The Forest Healing Foundation (FHF) continued to advance its mission of restoring native ecosystems, promoting ecological awareness, and supporting sustainable land use practices across the intermediate zone of Sri Lanka during this quarter.

1. Reforestation of Hilltop Land

This quarter, FHF began reforesting a new area of hilltop land that had previously been overrun by invasive flora (Maana, Kenda, Glirycidia and Havari Nuga). The initiative involved clearing invasive species and replanting native vegetation suited to the intermediate climatic zone. Mrs. Nel led this effort from start, coordinating the purchasing of native plants from the Forest Department and overseeing their planting in appropriate locations across the site. She was supported throughout by our planters, Athula and Anura, whose consistent assistance was instrumental to the project's progress. It is worth noting that managing invasive species remains a significant challenge for our team, given the limited manpower available relative to the extensive area of land requiring attention. Expanding our capacity in this area will be important for sustaining momentum on future reforestation efforts.

2. Ecotourism Partnership with Pollwaththa Eco Lodge

FHF became an associate partner in the tour guide training program organized by Polwaththa Eco Lodge, contributing specialized knowledge of local flora and fauna to the lodge's guides. As part of this collaboration, our team joined a group trek to Kukul Oya Waterfall within the Knuckles Forest Reserve, offering insights into the plant and animal life encountered along the trail. Our flora and fauna expert, Devin, shared his expertise through engaging storytelling that highlighted the ecological and cultural significance of the surrounding natural environment. This partnership strengthens our outreach into the ecotourism sector and helps ensure that visitors and guides develop a more informed appreciation towards nature.

3. Farmer Survey on Kandyan Forest Gardens

FHF conducted a survey of prospective farmers to assess their views on converting conventional farmland into Kandyan Forest Gardens. The survey revealed that current farmers face substantial threats to their crops, most notably from macro fauna. Toque macaques, Barking Deer and Giant Squirrels were identified as the primary contributors to crop damage in the surveyed areas. These findings indicate that, until effective mitigation measures are developed to address wildlife related crop losses and unless the farmers get an incentive to keep the larger garden trees intact farmers’ interest in adopting the Kandyan Forest Garden model is likely to remain low. Addressing this barrier will be a key focus for FHF in the future, as it directly affects the long term feasibility of expanding this sustainable farming model.

4. Planned Acquisition of State Plantation Land

FHF is preparing to bid on underutilized land being released for lease by the State Plantation Corporation of Sri Lanka. These plantations, once dedicated to tea cultivation, a major export for the country over many decades, have remained abandoned for more than twenty years. These lands are quite large in size with some spanning over 50 hectares and they are located in the Panvila, Kotaganga area in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. The government's decision to lease this land to qualified applicants presents a valuable opportunity for FHF to secure additional land for restoration and sustainable use. We are currently evaluating the requirements of the bidding process and assessing how this land could be integrated into our broader reforestation and community engagement goals.

Finally, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our administrative staff, dedicated volunteers, and Nel, Devin and our planters Athula ans Anura, whose time and effort continue to drive both our restoration work forward. We're always looking to welcome new volunteers who share our passion for forests and want to be part of what we do. You can also support us by following our social media pages and helping spread the word through shares and mentions. Happy Foresting!

As the year winds up we are happy to announce that we have been able to progress well on the ongoing reforesting projects together with new blood to carry out the spirit of reforesting to the next year. Here is a summary of work we completed within the time period.

Bodhiland is a land that we acquired which had been deforested and underutilized in 2018. We have continued to plant native forest trees in hopes of reforesting the plot of land. We have also tried planting several different fruit trees such as Wild Ceylon Mango (Mangifera zeylanica) and Blue Olives (Elaeocarpus angustifolius) where animals can feed on and start dispersing the seeds throughout the land. We have also been clearing out the invasive Manna grass (Glyceria sp), Soap bush (Clidemia hirta) and Havari Nuga (Alstonia macrophylla) trees in the land so that the native trees that we plant have a better chance of survival. Nel and her team have been very busy with clearing out these overgrown invasive flora from Bodhiland.

A new research is being conducted on the forest structure and biomass levels of Kandyan forest gardens (KFG) in comparison with a secondary forest by research student Devin Ranwala from University of Colombo. Kandyan forest gardens is an eco-friendly mixed crop farming practice that incorporates many different perennial crops. The research has identified several farmers who’s practicing Kandyan forest gardens and will be using the Digana forest reserve as the secondary forest for sampling. The research is currently in the process of sampling and data collection. Through this study we will be able to understand how similar the forest structure of KFG’s is compared to a secondary forest and also how these ancient eco-friendly farming farming practices can help us restore our landscapes through carbon sequestration while providing an income for farmers who practice KFG’s. As perennial crops are much more valuable in carbon sequestration than conventional monocrops, the KFG system is a great option when it comes to climate resilient agricultural practices. We hope to use the findings of this studies to model a scalable Kandyan Forest Garden model where people and nature can coexist in harmony.

The experience of new tree planting is continued with the guests from yoga retreats in collaboration with Polwaththa Eco Lodge. The operation is carried out by Nel together with her team. This provides the guests with a wholesome experience and a chance to connect with nature as they are interacting with the plants and soil in the process. Necessary trees are carefully chosen by Nel beforehand to align with the reforesting efforts of the Forest Healing Foundation in Bululand. Polwaththa Ecolodge has also started a new 7-day yoga retreat program which includes a session from Henk Kieft, an agricultural and plant energy expert. During the session the guests get to be out in the forest and feel the energy of different trees through practical demonstrations.

We have also started to restore and reforest private lands in the area with the permission of their rightful owners. Through a collaborative approach, landowners with underutilized lands are engaged as partners in ecological restoration, with native plant species being introduced and established through coordinated volunteer support from our organisation. This not only helps the restoration of the land but also engages the community in restoration efforts as even the family members of land owners take part in tree planting and clearing out invasive plants.

With the cyclone Ditwah making its landfall into the country at the end of November 2025 we have also been involved in providing emergency relief aid funded by donors through GlobalGiving Project: Emergency aid for landslide victims in Sri Lanka. We focused on the landslide victims that are residents of Udadumbara divisional secretariat in providing emergency aid. Volunteers Devin and Christine (from Germany) together with co-founder of the organization Remon were directly involved with the process from purchasing the goods to the delivery and donation for the victims. We went on documenting and interviewing the victims in areas Gangoda, Nugethenna East and West and also Meemure which were severely affected by landslides. More information about the landslide relief project can be found on the Forest Healing Foundation GlobalGiving projects page.

At last but not least we would love to thank our administrative staff, supportive volunteers and Nel together with her team for pouring their valuable time and efforts for all of our restoration projects  and also our humanitarian aid project. We always look out for new enthusiastic volunteers who are passionate about forests to join with us and be a part of our team. It is also helpful for us if you could follow us on our socials and spread our message to the world by sharing our content. Happy Foresting!