This project is helping to offset the carbon footprint of Christian German School Chiang Mai (CDSC) and generate data on the suitability of candidate framework tree species for restoring mid-elevation bamboo-deciduous forest. It is also providing novel environmental education activities for the school's pupils.
The project plan evolved during the last quarter of 2019, and several preliminary activities were implemented, including the participation of pupils in tree seed collection, the establishment of a school tree-nursery, promotion of the project during the school fair, and tuition provided to students in tree care and tree nursery management. A site near Ban Meh Meh (Mae Rim District) was selected for the project, in collaboration with the Mae Sa Watershed Unit and planted at the start of the rainy seasons in 2020 and 2021. A total of 1,016 trees (26 species) were planted on the 2020 plot across almost 3 rai and 376 trees (24 species) on the 2021 plot over 1 rai. CDSC pupils and teachers were joined by FORRU-CMU staff, as well as Mae Ram Sub-District Municipality officers and local villagers for planting, maintenance and monitoring of the sites. The trees were cared for by weeding and fertilizer application 3 times over each rainy season. Monitoring for tree survival and growth was implemented at the end of each rainy season. The work at the Ban Meh Meh sites was completed in December 2022. The trees are growing well above the weeds and are on track to meet the school's carbon offset target. The project also generated an enormous amount for species-performance data. For more on that, please access the project report through the download panel.
The school continued with it's carbon-offsetting program by planting another plot at Mon Cham in 2022 - more on that project coming soon
Related articles from the Christian German School Chiang Mai (CDSC)
- Beginning of the CDSC Forest: 25th Anniversary of CDSC in 2019
- Class Trips and Opening of the CDSC Tree Nursery
- Planting Day on June 16, 2020
- It doesn’t work without care!
- Project Funding: Donation Run for the CDSC Forest
Ban Meh Meh 2020
Ban Meh Meh 2021
Training & Outreach
Every restoration project should provide learning experiences to all stakeholders. Find out how to include education and training in your projects here.
Biomass, Carbon Accumulation & Climate Change
About half the biomass of a growing forest is carbon – that means forest restoration can help to mitigate global climate change. Learn more here.
31: Restoring Tropical Forests: a Practical Guide
Available in English, Spanish and French The authors at a publishers' meeting, Kew 2012Restoring Tropical Forests is a hands-on guide to restoring degraded tropical forest ecosystems. Based...
32: The use of Asian Ficus species for restoring tropical forest ecosystems.
ABSTRACT: Fig (Ficus spp.) trees have been promoted as framework species for tropical forest restoration throughout Asia, because they are considered to be keystone species. This article presents...
33: Grow a Forest with Lin and Sai - an illustrated story for children
This book is available in a multitude of languages and is open-access. See the download panel on the right, to get a copy in your language. If you cannot find your language there ... you are...
34: Reproductive Ecology and Propagation of Fig Trees (Ficus spp.) as Framework Trees for Forest Restoration
ABSTRACT: Fig trees (Ficus spp.) have been promoted as framework species for tropical forest restoration, because they are considered to be keystone species. This study investigated the...
35: การฟื้นฟูป่าเสื่อมโทรมในพื้นที่แห้งแล้ง : แนวคิดและแนวทางปฎิบัติเพื่อการฟื้นฟูป่าในภาคตะวันตก
รายงานการรวบรวมองค์ความรู้จากโครงการ "การวิจัยเพื่อการฟื้นฟูป่า" ในชุมชนหมู่บ้านแก่งปลากด ที่มีพื้นที่ติดกับเขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่าสลักพระ มีการดำงานร่วมกันระหว่าง เครือข่ายอนุรักษ์ช้าง (ECN)...
36: The role of botanic gardens in the science and practice of ecological restoration
ABSTRACT: Many of the skills and resources, associated with botanic gardens and arboreta, including plant taxonomy, horticulture and seed bank management, are fundamental to ecological restoration...
37: A Technical Strategy for Restoring Krabi’s Lowland Tropical Forest
This report is one of the outputs from the project “Gurney’s Pitta Research and Conservation in Thailand and Myanmar”, implemented by the U.K.’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)...
38: Research for Restoring Tropical Forest Ecosystems: A Practical Guide
Aimed at researchers and their supervisors, this technical manual describes how to establish a forest restoration research unit (FORRU) and implement a research program to determine how best to...
39: A Comparison of Growth of Naturally Established and Planted Trees in a Degraded Deciduous Dipterocarp Forest: Assessing the Potential for Forest Regeneration
Deforestation is widely acknowledged as a major environmental problem in the tropics, causing loss of biodiversity and environmental degradation (e.g. soil erosion) Therefore, this...
40: How to Plant a Forest: The Principles and Practice of Restoring Tropical Forests
FORRU-CMU's second practical training manual was published in 2005. It includes generic principles of restoration theory and practice, applicable throughout the tropics, as well as descriptions...