How to run a tree-planting day that counts
A tree-planting day is the most photogenic line item in Kenyan CSR — and the most frequently wasted. Seedlings planted in the wrong place, in the wrong season, with no aftercare, are not a contribution to the national tree-growing agenda. They are an expensive walk in a field.
The three questions that separate a real planting day from a photo opportunity: Who waters the trees in March? What species, and why these? What is the site's survival rate so far?
Start with the site, not the date. Good sites have a custodian with a reason to keep trees alive — a school, a community group, a county partner — and land tenure that will not evaporate. We match corporate teams to sites where aftercare is agreed before the first seedling is ordered.
Species matter more than numbers. Indigenous or site-appropriate species, sourced from a reputable nursery, sized to the soil and rainfall. A thousand seedlings of the right species outlive five thousand of the wrong one.
Finally, go back. A ninety-day survival check turns a nice day into impact data — the figure your report can stand behind. We build the check into every planting engagement, and we report the number whatever it says.