Mount Elgon Nature Conservation Tree Nursery

Our Vision

We created a tree nursery next to the nationalpark to restore and sustain the ecological integrity of the Mount Elgon ecosystem, creating a resilient and prosperous future for its communities through flourishing indigenous forests and enhanced livelihoods.

Our mission is to empower local communities by establishing and managing a sustainable tree nursery that produces high-quality, indigenous, and agroforestry seedlings.

Man caring for tree seedlings in tree nursery

Challenges

The Mount Elgon ecosystem once stretched from Endebess Town up to Mount Elgon National Park. However, as settlements expanded in the lower elevations, much of the forest was cleared to make way for farming. Today, the remaining forest areas include Mount Elgon National Park, as well as the Kimothon, Kiptogot, Suam, and Teldet Forest Reserves.

Because of limited forest cover, many community members still depend on these forests for firewood and construction timber, often entering them illegally. With the local population growing rapidly, pressure on the remaining forest continues to increase.

To address this challenge, we must prioritize planting more trees within the community and in designated areas of the national park and forest reserves. We help to face these challenges by the following activities:

Cut tree because of poaching

Growing the Trees

At our nursery, growing healthy trees begins with careful attention at every stage. We collect and analyze samples to monitor soil and plant health, ensuring each tree has the ideal conditions to thrive. Regular watering, precise pruning, and delicate pricking help guide strong, balanced growth. From early seedlings to mature specimens, we provide dedicated, hands-on care so every tree reaches its full potential.
Clearing area for growing trees
Preparing Soil to grow tree seedlings
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Watering Tree Seedlings
Man checking tree seedlings

Planting in the National Park

We rehabilitate degrated areas in the National Park with local indigenous tree species. As a result, we bring back the suffering forest to its original state.
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Preparing tree for being planted
Planting Tree in Mount Elgon Nationalpark
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Planting in the Community

We plant fast-growing and fruit trees, like Grevellia and Avocado, in the neighbouring communities of Mount Elgon National Park. Thereby, these communities get food, as well as timber for construction and firewood, so that the people do not need to go to the forest for poaching and hunting.
People planting trees
People planting trees
Community planting trees
Man planting trees
Fast growing tree for timber production

Educating the Communities

We educate these neighbouring communities on the importance of Mount Elgon and why it is necessary to protect this forest. We hope to raise awarness about destroying the forest like cutting down trees for timber and hunting wild animals and thereby reduce these harmful practices.
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Educating school class about planting trees and conservation
Educating Community

Donate to Support our Work

A big part of the tree nursery is planting trees in the community to conserve our ecoysystem. The people in the community get these trees for free because, they can not afford to buy them. To be able to operate our tree nursery project, we rely on selling our trees. However, this limits the amount of trees we can give the community for free. Through donations we are able to increase the amount of planted trees in the communities and therefore, protect our ecosystem more efficient.

If you want to support our work, you can donate over these fundraisers. It costs us about 20KSH/0.13€ to plant one tree.

https://www.mchanga.africa/fundraiser/127707

Woman checking tree seedlings