NOVEMBER 2011 NEWSLETTER
NGROUPE, WEHAVE
STRENGTH: WHY GROUPSARE
IMPORTANT IN TIST
TIST encourages farmers to form
groups and to ged to know thei
group members well before they
register as TIST members. Small
(Groups are so important to TIST that
they are even pari of our name: The
Intemational Small Group and Tree
Planting Program. Groups have a lot
of benefits:
# Share knowledge about tree
planting. We all know
different things, and can
learn from each other. In
Small Groups, we discuss
factors like wivene to plant,
benefits of different tree
species, when lo plant,
when to prune, and when to
thin.
# Lecam improved farming
methods. In Small Groups,
we can Jeam, discuss and
share improved farming
methods like conservation
farming,
a Share challenges met and
solutions: In groups, we
share challenges we met in
tree planting like pests and
animals that destroy trees
and crops, and suggest
ways to overcome then,
= Working together as a team:
In groups, we develop a
spirit of working together.
Cooperation makes farm
work easier, Some groups
choose to work together to
kelp prepare Conservation
Farming holes for cach
Small Group member,
working one day an anc
farm, and another dy on
anoiber in tim.
Improving relationships: In
forming groups and
working together, wo
improve our relationships
between families and
individuals fora better
functioning society.
Sharing farm equipment:
Group members come to
know and trust each oifier,
and 50 can share some
equipment used in farming
such a5 hoes, pangas,
machines used for pruning.
Sharing equipment can
reduce the cost of cach
member buying individually
Easier, better training and
quantification: Wien
groups are formed, it
becomes easy for TIST
trainers to reach the farmers
and for quantifiers to count
trees for these farmers in an
pred. Trees must be ;
quantified for sale of carbon
offsets and for farmers to
receive a tree payment. It's
important that a1) members
of a Small Group five near
enotgh to each other to
meet regularly, It's
important that they plant
their tres groves close
together so the Quantifier
can easiby walk from one to
T
ihe next. This helps keep
costs Tower. When costs
are low, we all benefit ince
TI5T Small Groups share
Tir of profits from carbon
sales.
Jt is important that we know other
members of our Saal Groaps well
because we work together for the
tong term. When we join TIST as
groups. We commit to keep the trées
we have planted growing forat least
3 years. We arc paid together as
groups. Wie lien from each other
asd teach each other. For all of these
reasons, making sure we form strong
groups is important for our success.
Ey Caleb Kayabuli
Cuantificr Kabale
TREE PLANTING: LET GUR EDEN
START WITH TIST TREES!
Genesis 2:15 God allowed Adam and
Eve to live in Eden where it iz
described as having all trees
necessary for life. The Garden had all
the trees needed for the lives of human
beings. animals, and of the trees
tiemsehves. God pat us in our Eden, in
our settlements, with spacious trees:
Have we preserved these trees? Are
wi band to trees?
Is it easy flor us to plant and preserve
trees?
Let pur Eden start with TIST trees!
Di we have land encugh on which to
plant trees? Yes. Where? ;
-Planting groves on big land
-Plonting along the paths te water
wells] to homes
-Planting around our portions of land
-Planting around our animal farms
Planting on the compound
Planting fruit trees in the banana
plantations
-Planting indigenous trees in our
gardens
-Planting fertilizer trees among Grogs
What are the benefits?
= Trees provide shade and shelicr 0
people, animals and crops
“Trees improve air quality by
absorbing carbon dioxide and
breathing out oxygen
Roots help water to ender the soil and
improve soil water retention
“Trees reduce rainwater moo ff that can
cause dangerous foods and landslides
-Trees clean water eniering sireams
and rivers, and can shade the water fo
keep it cool for fish and other animals
that benefit us
“Tre roots hold the soil firm and stop
soil erosion
- Trees provide medicine, firewood and
food
Trees act as windbrezkers.
When nature trees provide us with:
-Constri:tion naterials
Can we plant froit trees?
Yea! TIST encourages planting of fruit
trees. These fits add a lot of value
for TIS T farmers, and may be mare than
the meome from carbon offset sales.
How can we preserve our existing
trees?
-Encoursge our leaders to protect all
frees cxishng now
Plant more trees to support the ones
im place
Ue hest cooking metheds, which take
less firewood such 3s improved, cook
stoves
Mo trees, mo fife! Letus all join hands
in reviving eur destroyed Eden’
By Sarah Nankumda.
DO YO KNOW THES?
Cod created the earth, all the creatures
and plants in their natural
environment.
Map has disturbed nature by
destroying forests, killing plants and
amimals, abusing the land, and not
taking good care of the work He
created.
Today 1s the right time to work hard to
protect oug lands and be good
caretakers of God's creation. Today i
the right time to work so we will have
enough to eat and drink. Otherwise,
wie will be starving.
Why do Tsay this?
1 ask TIST members to plant irces 0
enable those coming in future to reap
good harvest and to share the benefis
of God's creation. Shall we reap
henetits without coring for our groves
and developing 2 sense of ownership?
As a Chsantifier, | find many people
don't care Toe their groves and do not
Teno that the trees belong lo them.
To have good results, planting must
be followed by good care. However,
many groves arc under bush.
Eemember, tree planting is like
planting other crops. 1F trees. ars not
cared for, they will not grow well.
My advice to 5G is to clear bushes
on and around the groves.
Understand that you are the caretakers
and stewards of your land and trees
and God's creation, When harvest
time comes, you will reap much.
Piant frees, and from these trees, your I
get food, medicine, shade. a clean
environment and income.
Plant many frees! When hnrvest time
comes, harvest 2 fot!
By David Murungi.
Quantifier Bushenyi.
THE BEST GROVE
TIST 5.3 members, it's your duly to
have make your groves the best they
can be. To have the best goove: -
1. Use proper spacing: Trees need
enough room to grow well, since they
need enough light and water to thrive.
Plant trees at lest 66 (Im) from ons
tree to apother for trees that don’t
spread a large canapy, like cucalyptus.
and mere space for wees like mange
and acacias that have spreading
CATROPIES., This ts the minimum spacing,
hut mone space may help some trees
row better.
2. The trees should also be planted in
[fimes (rows) to enable (Juanfificrs and
TIST staff to camy out their duties
effectively.
3. Feeding: Farmers should clear and
weed their {ree groves to allow them
grow well without the competition by
other unwanted trees and bushes.
&, Thinning; Farmers should remove
stunted trees (o allow others grow
well, or harvest trees when some
become too closely spaced.
5. Fire lime: Farmers should creale®
fire line around their ree groves and
romove dead, doy wood especially
Sag A
| ——
during the dry scason to prevent fire
spreading mn these groves.
6. Farmers should also fence their
groves where necessary to prevent
animals from entering the groves and
destroying trees,
Thanks te farmers who have already
dope the above. Plmse follow their
example and make your grove the best
, it canbe!
From Tushahemukama Apollo
Thinning and pruning your trees for
successful growth
by Ben Misdeh
In general, the purpose of thinning and
peuning trees is 10 improve individual
tree health, a5 well as overall forest
health. This is done by selecting the
“Pest” trees in the forest. For many
species, including hardwoods,
grevillea, cucalyplus and cypress.
these are often the largest trees, cach
with a single, straight stem. Trees may
have different needs for space
depending on species: site, planting
style (woodloy, incerparated into crop
fields, or windbreak), and climate, but
some general principles apply.
To grow strong, healthy
trees, a Spacing of two meters 1s
recommended. [his spacing works for
many TIST irees (Le. grevillea, and
cypress), but remember some recs
require more space (mango and
macadaiii, for example). CRvInE tress
proper spacing helps them get enaugh
veler and ouirients to grow to their
full potential, Closer spacing is
acceptable when trecs are young. As
the trees begin fo mame, Swine IT6CS
will be larger and more robust than (heir
neighbors. These are fhe trees which
should he kept In determining which
trees should be removed, took at the
best trees and determine if they are
appropriztely spaced. I they arc nod,
yon stould remove some nearby frees,
Once you have determined
which trees to remove, cut these af (he
base of he tree. In the weeks and
montis following cutting, many lees
will begin to sprout from the simp.
To keep the tree from conting back: cut
or break these sprouts off al the hase
af the tree.
One-off the easiest ways io
determine ifs tree shoizhd be taken out
iz to look at its size relative lo nearby
trees oof the same ape and species. Tree
grovrth well vary based on soil, water
wvuilability, cto. In general, if all trees
of fhe same species in an aren ims close
{ox the same ope, the larger trees should
be chaser to allow fo grow. Another
good indicator of tree health is the
position of the crown of the tree in the
canopy. Trees with crowns above ihe
general canopy bevel can absorh mone
light than those lower down, and so
cam jrow better: Finally, trees should
have & single stom, with no major
disease or rot, However, this does not
mean that all small trees should be
removed! Atm for a two meer by two
meter spacing so that the trees are #5
large and =5 healthy #3 possible to
maximise chon capture.
When making thinning
choices, remember that growth rate
varices greatly by species. Ifa mango
tree is growing near bots of cucalypies,
the mango may be far smaller and
slorarer growing than the fast-growing
sucalyplus; but it certainly should not
hie cut simply because 11 1s smaller] In
face, a tree like mange 15 of great
importance. due to its usefulness in
producing fruit fer food and sale.
Mango also is beter for other crops
rowing in the field. Eocabypius cm
make olher trees and crops nearby
grow poorly. 1115 imporiant io
remember this as vou sebect which
trees to thin. There are many wes for
trees, depending upon specics
besides carbon capture. For example,
you Tay wand trees for shade In this
case, you should give the Tee more
room Than usual to expose the tree to
more sunlight. This will stimulate the
tree to produce new branches on the
main stem and on larger limbs. If you
want fo use a row of wees 85 3
windhresk, keep trees in that row
spaced closely together, but remove:
trees to ether side in order ior increase
the “heshiness” of the recs.
Pruning
Im un nataral forest; trees
maturally scif-prume. Branches in the
upper canopy shade out lower
branches, As leaves en the lower
hranghes begin wo die off, so does the
branch to which they are attached.
Dead and rotted branches naturally fall
off or are knocked off. While natural
prunmg, may happen on TIST sites, it
may be necessary, of beneficial wo
prune trees by hand. While each tree
species requires a different pruning
techniques, some general principles
apply toall trees a5 you decide which
limbs fo remove. F
Most tree species should
have a single mixin stem at the ground
level. Trees with a single stem
generally grow faster and are less
proae to split during storms. If a tree
with maltiple stems is chosen as a crop
tree, when choosing which stem to
keep, generally choose the largest. but
make supe il is healthy, with fats of
Icaves, free of rot, and relatively
straight
Many people think you
should cut limbs paraflel to the tank.
This is false. Cuts shoold be made
perpendicular to the limb, slighthy out
from the trunk. This minimizes the
amount of exposed wed, and allows
the actively dividing cells in the branch
collar to grow over the cut over time
{sec figure 1). This helps the tree to
remain healthy znd free of rot.
When pruning, don’t be
overzealous, Tres tnmomings are often
used for fuel wood or fodder, While
this is geod, remember that while
pruning can improve tree health and
increase growth over Hime, removing
leaves will initially redice the tree's
ability to capture sunlight and cause
stress fo the tree by creating a scar,
which i must heal. If you remove too
many, the tree will grow slowly or may
die. After removing a limb, keave the
area cut abeme. Dio not cover it with tar
or any other material, so the tres can
expel any toxic material on the wound.
This is essentially the same process
used by the human body to heal a cut.
Don’t forget that trees tend
to prod sce new shoots near cuts from
thinning or pnming. Some species do
this more than others. Generally, these
dre very easy to remove during the
first year after cutting by simply
snapping off the supple shoots.
Shoots will often not grow back.
Some trees, especially frost
trees, produce better yields with
multiple stems. Thess are cil near the
base of the stem when they are voarg
im order to stimulate new growth. Once
the tree has established these now
shoots, they too may be cul in order
to produce moss growth, This process
may be repeated in onder to increase
the bushinces of the ee, bul be sre
tor allow it Teast a few months or more
between tommings so the tree can
recover from the stress cansed by
cutting.
Remember that to take part in the
carbon market: we have io commit ©
keep trees for the long term. We should
allow trees bo grow for at least 20 years.
thinping and pruning (0 produce
ugeful, sustainable forests that
provide us benefits for years to come.
10
has a collar of live
wood, the final cut
| should be made just
beyond the outer
edge of the collar
By
rd
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