We have kickstarted our new Green Hosting service by planting 200 trees in Kenya. Through a groundbreaking (or should we say tree-planting) relationship with Ecologi, we have transformed our hosting into a force for good. Our hosting has always been environmentally conscious, with renewably powered, carbon neutral servers, but recently we have levelled it up. When you move onto our new, even more environmentally friendly servers, we will also plant trees around the world so that your website has a positive impact on the planet. If you want to find out more about Green Hosting, click here
Kenya is a nation in East Africa that spans roughly 580,367 sq km, making it 2.4 times bigger than the UK. It is situated between Lake Victoria and the Indian Ocean, with its capital Nairobi growing into a large commercial hub for the region. Unfortunately food security and poverty are still key development challenges in Kenya, with some sources finding 36% of the population still live below the poverty line.
Our trees were planted in the Mau region, which has a large forest containing many rivers that impact the lives of millions. Since the 1970s deforestation has taken place due to agriculture and charcoal production; this has led to huge degradation of the land and when combined with recent droughts, caused serious damage to local watersheds.
We planted our trees with Ecologi who have an incredibly detailed vetting process for their tree-planting partners. On this occasion, the project was run by Eden Reforestation Projects who aim to provide fair-wage employment to local villagers to help restore global forests. Eden hire local people to grow, plant and guard these trees. This means you gain both environmental and socioeconomic benefits. Our project funded 200 afromontane trees at the Kass FM site, and it covers 5700 hectares in the Mau region. This land is owned by the local community, who also planted the trees. The ’employ-to-plant’ process creates a consistent income which allows the local community to improve education, nutrition and healthcare.
The ‘Forest restoration in Kenya’ project aligns with the following UN Sustainable Development Goals: