John-Paul Roberts

But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit Jeremiah 17:7-8 It is good to plan the year ahead. When is the best time to plant (rainy season) , what events are coming up? These might be Birthdays – instead of giving people plastic goods, why not give a plant of sapling  instead (if you grow your own plants like avocados from seed this is a lovely gift!) When your own birthday is coming up you can ask for the number of  trees of your years – but this you will need to plan – where might they be planted, how will they be watered.. Church events – like patronal festivals, conferences, synods – these are great opportunities for sapling distribution – you will need to plan in advance to get the donations of trees , invite the bishop or priest to bless the trees before they are distributed Confirmations and baptisms, each candidate can be invited to bring a tree/sapling to the service for blessing. Explain how they are a symbol of your spiritual growth, if they are not watered and cared for they will not grow. Funerals – this is a wonderful way to remember a loved one, especially if they are laid to rest far away, the tree can be a special place where you remember them as you rest it its shade. Tree plantings at schools.  if you can get your local school or your children’s schools involved this is a wonderful way for children to fall in love with tree growing at a young age and also because they are many they can do a large tree planting event easily Environmental days – use environmental days such as World Environment Day (5th June) World water day (22nd march) , World day to combat desertification (17th June) etc I am sure you have many other ideas that you can include in your year planner!

But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; Psalm 52:8 There are three types of trees that it is important to know about: indigenous, alien and invasive. Indigenous are always the best to grow as they are native to the soil and grow the best. Indigenous trees are trees that are native to an area. These trees are integral to the function of an area’s ecosystem, providing not only oxygen for humans and other animal species but also increasing the quality of soil and helping with climate regulation, among many other benefits. Alien trees are not native to the area, they have been brought into the region from another. Thus, they have not naturally evolved and are simply transported from a country to another. They might have other benefits such as being a fruit tree (papaya, peach, mango etc) or they are rapid growth (such as a pine for sale of wood ) – do remember though that these trees are often water guzzlers and may deteriorate the eco- system. Invasive trees are a serious problem as they invade areas, they often consume much more water than indigenous trees. They are land transformers, transforming eco-systems into dense stands of invasives, ultimately effecting and impacting negatively on biodiversity. In savanna and forests, they compete directly with indigenous trees and shrubs. So it is important to learn about trees in your area. For tree planting projects it is better to plant your local indigenous trees. You can do a google search (Ecosia) to find out about the best indigenous plants to grow. You can also educate your congregation about invasive trees and organise a ‘hack’ to pull them out. Thus you can improve the water levels in dams and rivers.