SRDH Year in Review: 2024
Participants in the May 1 community tree planting event
Our Highlights:
2,644 trees planted in 2 community forests and 9 privately-owned farms!
May 1 Event completed
Began Capacity Building Workshops
Our team now includes 18 people, with increasing participation from the community
Trees planted in one of our community forests.
Community Forests and Agroforestry
In 2024, SRDH planted 2,644 seedlings in our community forests and on the lands of the farmers that we collaborate with. We also planted a lot of coffee this year. Coffee is a shade-loving species, so we are planting it in the un-derstory of our community forests. Since many of our trees are still relatively small, we planted plantain with some of the coffee to provide shade (and plantains!).
We have continued working with all of the farmers who have been partnered with us for several years. We are currently working with 9 farmers. 97 seedlings have been planted on their farms this year.
Lakou-style agroforestry on a partnering farmer’s land.
May 1 Community Reforestation Day
Each year on May 1, Haiti’s Arbor Day, SRDH partners with local schools to teach youth about the importance of trees, how to plant them, and how to sustainably manage forest resources. SRDH then takes participants out to plant trees for hands-on experience. The event is open to the community as well. This year, we planted 1,088 trees. In total, 111 people participated, including students, community members, and SRDH staff.
Participants in the May 1 event.
Capacity Trainings & Monitoring
This year, we began a series of trainings, adapted from the Parks Canada Conservation Standards Modules. These modules take a deep dive into strategic project development, implementation, and monitoring to provide SRDH staff and local organizations with additional tools and resources to strengthen project man-agement. Eight local organizations and SRDH staff participated in these workshops. So far, we have presented four of the nine modules.
Another training we held was on the use of TreeTracker, by Greenstand. This application enables tree planters to upload geotagged photos of their trees to receive credits. You can view the SRDH trees that have been tracked so far here.
Participants in Open Standards and TreeTracker workshops.
Nursery
We began a small nursery (480 square meters) in December of last year. Centrally located in Duchity, this nursery gives us a location to germinate and grow more seedlings, reducing our reliance on outside nurseries.
