Sequestering carbon, providing wildlife habitats and helping a local community
With Carbon Footprint you can support local communities in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya. Through our tree planting programme you can help:
- Offset CO2 emissions*
- Reduce poverty
- Provide wildlife habitats
- Create a brighter future for project team members including orphans and people living with HIV / AIDS
* The official carbon offsetting is achieved through the retirement of credits from a Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) project. See the explanation of Tree Buddying below for more details.
Plant a Tree - Protect a Tree
For every tree that you pledge, a tonne of carbon will also be saved in the Brazilian Amazon via our VCS avoided deforestation programme. In this way, you will be offsetting carbon, planting and protecting forests and biodiversity in 2 continents.
Gallery from Past Planting Events
Our team in Kenya have been very busy planting.
Project leader, Mburu Waiganjo told us 'What makes me personally proud is the fact that our project has reversed a forest degradation trend and the 'don't care' attitude towards the forest conservation that had prevailed has now gone and yielded the current lush green forest that is teeming with wildlife noises from the birds, the beauty of the butterflies and other insects which are evidently useful in pollination of crops in the forest-adjacent farms. The community's possession and ownership of the forest as their communal resource and source of livelihood and their enthusiastic participation in the project also is a unique progress that accompanies the project's growth.'
We have planted over 150,000 trees in Kenya's Great Rift Valley over the past 10 years.
- Over 20 different species of native broad leaf trees - including Olea Africana, Cordia Africana, Ehretia Cymosa
- Significant community benefits - education & new skills, providing employment
- Water regulation provided via groundwater recharge
- Soil erosion and landslides averted
- Encouraging biodiversity on the planted sites - antelope, red forest duiker, eland, dik diks, many bird species, chameleons and many butterfly species
This season, 2 nurseries established within the community will be providing 6,000 of the 20,000 trees already scheduled for planting. In a neighbouring community, further trees are being grown for planting by a women's group and farmer field school.Latest updates on Our News Page
Plant for the Planet
Carbon Footprint Ltd have received endorsement from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for our reforestation efforts in The Great Rift Valley. All trees pledged and planted by Carbon Footprint / ESCONET are being included in the Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign, across the globe to help avert damaging and economically debilitating climate change.
"We have but a short time to avert damaging and economically debilitating climate change. Forests are natural and economically important 'carbon sinks'. Globally, forest cover is at least one-third less than what it once was. It is time to reverse the trends, it is time to act."
Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme
The Kikuyu escarpment forest with its great mixture of both large and small wildlife animals, birds and butterflies, has been the beautiful gateway to the Great Rift Valley until degradation trend struck. This environment is the source of water and thus livelihood to the neighbouring communities.
In just a few years, wanton and deliberate destruction of the escarpment environment through charcoal burning, logging for timber and fuel wood, ring-debarking of medicinal trees and overgrazing has resulted to virtual depletion of forest vegetation cover. This has in return resulted to drying of springs/rivers/streams, soil erosion, emigration of wildlife/birds, scorching sun, human-wildlife conflict and the scarring of once a beautiful scenic landscape that generated some income through tourism.
The worst result from this environmental destruction was the ethnic clashes witnessed recently between the pastoral Maasai and the farming Kikuyu over use of the dwindling water resources at the base of the escarpment. This resulted in unnecessary deaths, injuries, loss and destruction of property and displacement of many families.
The communities have due to the negative climatic changes become even more dependent on the forest for their livelihoods. The women and girls move longer distances in search of fuel wood and water, exposing them to danger of attacks and sexual assaults. The Maasai have to bring their cattle to graze in the forest. With the loss of flora and fauna, the tourism income is dwindled, bringing the curio business down with it.
This project aims to plant 100,000's of indigenous trees on the worst degraded areas.
Additional Benefits through your tree pledge in addition to Offsetting Carbon emissions
- Poverty reduction through employment creation
- Water catchment areas will be conserved providing water/food security
- Birds, butterflies and other wildlife habitats will be conserved and others created
- Bees attracted by the trees in flowering seasons will benefit the community through sale of honey hence reduce poverty
- Sale of fruit will help the community earn extra income
- Nutritional Benefit from some of the fruit trees planted like the Avocado trees which are of great nutritional value
- Ecotourism will be promoted with better forests giving alternative occupation to those previously engaging in destructive forest activities
- The pastoral communities will have pastures for their animals during drought times
- Some of our teams have orphans and Persons Living With HIV/Aids (PLWHA)
- The trees also assist in the prevention and control of soil erosion
- Beautification of our locality and the roads
Quality Assured carbon offsetting
Following a QAS approved carbon footprint calculation, this tree planting package (which also includes retiring Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) credits from registered projects) meets the requirements under the Quality Assurance Standard (QAS) for Carbon Offsetting.
As the carbon offsetting is guaranteed by retiring high quality VCS credits, this Kenyan tree planting project will also meet BSi's PAS 2060 guidance on carbon neutrality, therefore assuring your carbon neutral claims.