Three ways to volunteer as tree planters

After reading last week’s column, many readers reached out to me to ask for ways they could help. They wanted to volunteer but didn’t know how.

I was over the moon to have received an outpouring of enthusiasm from readers eager to turn their green thumbs towards the skies and contribute to a leafier planet. In this pursuit, I present three tangible ways you can become a tree-planting volunteer, each path branching into the noble forest of conservation.

One, get 10 seedlings and plant them. Your seedlings should be fruit trees from a trusted local supplier. I’ll teach you how to multiply the 10 seedlings to make them 20, then 40 and then 100. So stay with this column.

You’re going to plant these seedlings in your garden. You should aim to have a leafy dwelling where you have multiple fruit trees.

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My former colleague on the Daily Trust editorial board recently said something that has stuck with me since: “Even paradise is a garden,”Hajiya Safiya Dantiye said.  I immediately told her “I’m going to add this to my talking points!”

Everybody loves a garden. It’s difficult to find someone who says “I hate plants and don’t want them around me.”

Indeed in my house we’ve  a food forest.  And due to the diversity of the fruit trees in the garden, you can eat fruits from it everyday of the year. We also have birds that sing for us every morning. That’s a pleasant bonus.

Imagine an oasis where, instead of walls, you are enveloped by a living curtain of fruit trees. This isn’t a far-fetched dream; it’s a reality in my own home where we’ve nurtured a food forest. Our garden gifts us daily with nature’s sweets and avian symphonies each morning.

What if you don’t have where to plant the trees? This is a good question that people ask me all the time. For those with spatial constraints, despair not. Tree cultivation is not bound by land; containers can become your soil.

In other words, if that is your reality, you can plant the trees in containers. I’ve used sacks, plastic containers and clay pots. We’ve found the local clay pots to be the most effective and reliable because the soil in sacks dry out and requires constant watering. In essence, I’ve experimented with sacks, plastic holders, and terracotta pots, the latter proving the most fruitful. In these vessels, you can harbor a fragment of Eden.

Two, the second way to be a volunteer is to be a  tree planting group captain. This is how. After planting your own 10 trees, it’s time to form a group of 10 by inviting other nine tree planters and get them to plant their own trees. This time, the tree planting should be a group effort. You can watch step by step how to plant the trees from our website 200MillionTrees.com. Go to each member’s house or farm to plant the trees as a group.

For example, if you finish planting in Malam Ismail’s house, then move as a group and plant in Malam Ibrahim’s garden. Doing the work as a group is fun and will improve the chances of success.

There’s a unique camaraderie in communal labor, and with each member planting their ten trees, you quickly amass a forest of 100 — your Level 1 achievement.

That is, once each person in the group has planted 10, you now have 100 trees planted and have reached Level 1.

Our goal then becomes helping you to turn those 100 trees to 1,000 or 10,000 trees and guide you in making from N1 million to N10 million per year as a group.

The vision of each grove potentially generating substantial income for your group. Imagine transforming your greening effort into a thriving, sustainable business.

Finally, the third way of volunteering is to be a donor. We call someone in this category the “Generous Gardener.” If you’re too busy or simply not available to plant the trees yourself, just get a local tree planting group and give them the money to help you plant the trees. One tree is N1,000. Some groups charge up to N4,000 per tree which is still not expensive considering you’re planting a whole oxygen factory.

If you can’t find a local planting group, send the donation to 200MillionTrees.com. For every tree you donate, our plan is to multiply it by 10. So, for example, you’re not donating 100 trees but 1,000. That means you’re installing a thousand factories, working night and day for you, earning you endless rewards.

Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “When a Muslim plants a tree, whatever is eaten from it is charity from him and whatever is stolen is charity and whatever is subtracted from it is charity”.

Another narration says: “If a Muslim plants a tree, or sows a field and men and beasts and birds eat from it, all of it is charity from him”. [Muslim, Riyad as-salihin n°135]

The ethos of this initiative echoes in this profound Hadith: planting a tree is a charity, a gift that keeps on giving, providing sustenance, shade, and shelter to all beings, its benefits rippling out to the world.

In this collective greening, each of us can play a part. Whether as a cultivator, a leader, or a sponsor, every action intertwines with the fate of our planet. The question then is not if, but how many trees you will plant, not just for the earth, but for every Nigerian you wish to shade and nourish.

In our fleeting journey through life, what greater legacy could we hope to plant than that of a tree? It is a living, breathing testament to our time here, an anchor for future generations. As you ponder your place in this verdant legacy, consider the paths laid out before you and choose how you will leave your mark upon this earth.

So, as you reflect upon these avenues, ask yourself, how many Nigerians will benefit from the trees you plant? How will you spread the roots of your legacy? The seed of action is in your hands, and the time to plant is now.

In sum, our goal is to plant one tree for every Nigerian. How many Nigerians will you plant for?