Young Forest Restorers

The recent UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow re affirmed th e need for immediate action to reverse global climate change (GCC). The younger generation has the most to gain from solving the climate crisis , since they will have to live with the repercussions of inacti vity for longer than today’s adults. Consequently , young people are becoming increasing ly prominent in protest movements , yet they have limited influence on climate change politics , as exemplified by the COP26's failure to adopt the required steps to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius . On the other hand , young people have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for positive direct action, to reduce or sequester greenhouse gases , although they often lack the skills and knowledge needed to ensure that such direct action is effective. National schools’ curricula do not currently provide such skills and knowledge.

Consequently , enabling young people to run their own forest restoration projects has enormous potential to satisfy their need for direct climate action. Not only could it sequester enormous quantities of carbon dioxide, it could also reduce both biodiversity losses and rural poverty, by providing watershed services (flood/drought mitigation), forest products and opportunities for eco tourism. With our expertise to deliver such skills and knowledge to the school children of Chiang Mai and provide them with the practical and technical support needed to become effective “Young Forest Restorers”.

Activtity List

• Provide forest restoration training for children.
• Print and distribute student work-book written, illustrated, for students children.
• Technical and financial support for establishment of schools' native forest-tree nurseries.
• Support Seed bank (at CMU) and seed swapping network to ensure biodiversity among planted trees.
• At least 1 rai (40x40 m) planted by each school, with a total of at least 2,000 trees.
• Online monitoring of project uptake and effectiveness & certificate awarding using FoB platform.
• Kick-off teachers' conference for target school & one forest-celebration event - to showcase results.