The Plant Your Age Initiative

The Plant Your Age
Initiative

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When trees are planted, they are in essence ‘born’ and must be nurtured to full maturity. This is a critical component of the ‘Plant your Age’ campaign.

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Why the Idea

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), non-communicable diseases kill about 41 million people annually. This accounts for 71% of all deaths globally. Among these are lifestyle diseases that can largely be prevented through proper nutrition and fitness. Natural landscape, fresh vegetables and fruits are all key drivers of healthy bodies and minds. Trees play a key role in all these drivers. They provide fruits and underpin natural landscapes. Through agroforestry, they also protect the soil that nurtures vegetables and other crops.

Therefore, every time you grow a tree, you are investing not just in planetary health, but also human health. This September 14^th, invest in your health by planting trees commensurate to your age. Let’s grow trees and harvest health!

The Background

When Laureate Prof. Wangari Maathai passed on, Green Africa Foundation founder and chairperson Dr Isaac Kalua Green urged Kenyans to plant 71 trees each to mark every year of her life and to commemorate her efforts in sustainable development, democracy and peace. Kenyans from all walks of life heeded this call and established “Wangari Maathai Green Corners” in various parts of the country. The first one was established by then Minister for Agriculture H.E. William Ruto and various dignitaries at the University of Nairobi’s Wangari Maathai Institute located in Lower Kabete. This concept evolved to today’s rallying call “Plant Your Age” Day.

“Plant Your Age” is a global call to action for human beings to plant trees equivalent to their respective ages and ensure the specific trees grow to maturity. It is a personalized commitment to conserve our environment to ensure that wanton deforestation doesn’t result in increasing loss of the most important commodity – WATER! This is critical because an abundance of trees is the primary prerequisite for water abundance and WATER IS LIFE!

The Origin

Kenya’s third President H.E. Mwai Kibaki launched the ‘Plant Your Age’ Campaign when we dedicated The Kibaki Green Corner (with 80 trees to commemorate his 80^th birthday then) in Kitui during the historical National Tree Planting Day held on 30^th April 2012 in Kitui. Thereafter, Kenyans plant and grow trees equivalent to their age at their preferred places.

Today, the “Kibaki Green Corner” is thriving because we are committed to grow the trees. This is the same spirit of long-term commitment that has been injected into the ‘Plant your Age’ campaign.

Our Justification

The Plant Your Age campaign seeks to enhance and unify tree growing across Kenya, Africa and globally. There are already numerous tree planting campaigns championed by different players and entities, but they are often time-bound and splintered, which makes it hard to track progress, survival and flourish of planted trees. Plant Your Age doesn’t seek to replace or outshine any of these tree planting ventures. Rather, it seeks to enhance and unify tree growing at individual, corporate and national levels.

Our enhancement is based on the concept of planting and growing trees that correspond to your age, whether that age is biological, product or anniversary related, for instance, during the anniversary of a given corporate’s founding, all staff members can plant trees corresponding to the corporate age in question or number of products they handle. When trees are planted, they are in essence ‘born’ and must be nurtured to full maturity. This is a critical component of the ‘Plant your Age’ campaign.

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Opportunity for Partnership

‘Plant your Age’ provides an opportunity for national and county governments, corporates and individuals to inject innovation into tree growing by ensuring long-term flourish of these trees. It grants a platform for governments to expand the forest cover of gazzetted national forests by investing national resources into consistent tree planting exercises within these forests. In the same vein, ‘Plant your Age’ unlocks multiple opportunities for Corporate Social Investment that will expand not just forests and woodlands, but also trees and better relationships. In addition, this campaign extends a hand of partnership to individuals who are part of a bigger movement that lends long-term significance to their individual tree growing efforts.

The Plant Your Age Day

Why the Day!

How old are? Now imagine every year you have lived represents a chance to restore hope, inspire a new generation, replenish health and make the world a better place for all. When you plant a tree, you give life to the living and make it worthwhile for you, your family and future generations.

Every year, September 14^th is the ‘Plant Your Age’ Day. It is a day dedicated to physical act and journey of planting and growing trees equivalent to your age. We also urge every individual to embrace of what trees represent. Read more about our mother organization: Green Africa Foundation here