Learn about the value of indigenous trees—and plant one! | UN Environment

Learn about the value of indigenous trees—and plant one! | UN Environment
“This tree grows on one mountain in Malawi and there are hardly any left,” says botanist Mark Nicholson, manager of a remarkable 40-hectare forest near Nairobi, Kenya, planted with over 650 species of indigenous trees and shrubs.
“Almost everything here in the forest, including what are now large trees over 20 metres high, has been planted since 2000, and we’ve seen a big increase in biodiversity,” says Nicholson. “When we first came, all the trees were exotic, non-native species, like cypress, wattle, eucalyptus and pine. We recorded only 35 species of birds. Now that number is up to 187 and in 2015 the colobus monkeys came back after an absence of 80 years. They came back because indigenous trees provide food for them.”