NOTE FROM JONAH: This is Part XI of XII in “The Million Tree Project” a video series documenting Shanghai Roots & Shoots efforts to combat desertification in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China.
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.”
THE MILLION TREE PROJECT CHAPTER INDEX
1. The Project
2. Desertification
3. The Volunteers
4. A Wall of Trees
5. Corporate Social Responsibility
6. A Volunteer’s Life
7. Life on the Desert’s Edge
8. A Local’s Life
9. Education
10. Working Together
11. The Man Who Planted Trees
12. A Better Future
When I met Robin Rose in Kulun Qi, Inner Mongolia I asked him if he would mind talking to me on camera about the reforestation project we were filming for Shanghai Roots & Shoots.
Dr. Rose said to me, you can talk to me — but only if you read this book first. Rose reaches into his jacket and pulls out a pocket size version of “The Man Who Planted Trees.” Now mind you, Robin Rose is the type of man who keeps a pocket size version of books in his jacket, just in case pesky journalists want to talk to him.
So, I said — fair enough. Took the book and read it in about an hour (its a short book — about 4000 words long). Not only is it short, but its great. One that I would now encourage anyone and everyone to read, because the message of the book is strong, simple and yet open for some interpretation.
The book tells the tell of a shepherd who independently builds an entire forest during the narrators life. Although its highly allegorical and (questionably) fictional there are some real life stories which mimik the story of this shepherd. One man who battles the same fight as author Jean Giono is the man above, Dr. Robin Rose.
Rose is a senior advisor to Shanghai Roots & Shoots but has worked on reforestation projects around the world. His message is strong and not exactly the most positive one. He has seen the best and worst of what is happening to the world’s forests. When he speaks, he does so with gravity that touches on the reality of climate change and the earth’s current and upcoming environmental challenges.
While I made 12-short films about the Million Tree Project, one film featured Dr. Rose. This film is appropriately called “The Man Who Planted Trees” and can be seen here.
Beyond Dr. Rose’s efforts and Shanghai Roots & Shoots’ Million Tree Project there are many other examples of real life examples of the author’s tale. From Wikipedia we learn about a couple:
Real-life people in other countries have produced similar effects. Abdul Karim in India created a forest out of “nothing” over a period of 19 years, using the same method as Bouffier.[1] An organization called Trees for the Future has assisted more than 170,000 families, in 6,800 villages of Asia, Africa, and the Americas, to plant over 35 million trees.[2] Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prizerecipient, founded the Green Belt Movement which planted over 30 million trees to restore the Kenyan environment.[3] In China, Shanghai Roots & Shoots, a division of the Jane Goodall Institutelaunched The Million Tree Project in Kulun Qi, Inner Mongolia to plant one million trees to stop desertification and alleviate global warming.[4][5]
The character of Bouffier has some similarity to the legendary early 19th century American tree planter Johnny Appleseed. Another tireless promoter of tree-planting is Marthinus Daneel, Ph.D., Professor of African studies at Boston University and founder of ZIRRCON (Zimbabwean Institute of Religious Research and Ecological Conservation). Daneel has worked with churches for years planting millions of trees in Zimbabwe. Due to instability in Zimbabwe in recent years, such efforts have been significantly curtailed. Similarly, concerned about global warming, Bhausaheb Thoratplanted 45 million seeds after being inspired by the book. For this he started the Dandakaranya Abhiyaan in June 2006 at Sangamner, Maharashtra, India (Sangamner is on Pune-Nasik highway).UNEP has taken notice of this campaign in its A Billion Tree Campaign in which almost 45 million seedlings have been planted.[6] Harmony magazine Tina Anil Ambani has an article on Bhausaheb Thorat’s global warming awareness efforts and his Dandakaranya Abhiyaan in the December 2008 edition.[7]
- To buy this book (only 99 cents used) click here.
- To learn more about Dr. Robin Rose click here.
- To learn about Roots & Shoots’ Million Tree Project and how you can help click here.
- To see my short film “The Man Who Planted Trees” Click here.
Shanghai Roots & Shoots’ Million Tree Project, which began in 2007, aims to raise community awareness of the Earth’s precious environment while focusing on steps individuals can take to lessen their negative impact on the natural world. The project gives individuals and organizations an opportunity to fight global warming by planting oxygen-producing trees in Inner Mongolia, China. It also encompasses true capacity building as the local population is intimately involved with, and benefits from, every step of planting, maintaining and monitoring the trees.
The Million Tree Project is designed to improve both ecological and humanitarian conditions of Kulun Qi, Tongliao municipality, lnner Mongolia, We chose this project site because the area suffers severely from desertification and its consequential sandstorms. These sandstorms strike Inner Mongolia and its surrounding areas each spring, destroying local homes and forcing many people to flee their native land.
The Goal: Shanghai Roots & Shoots aims to plant one million trees in the Inner Mongolian desert by 2014. We have a long-term Memorandum of Understanding in place with the Forestry Bureau of Kunlun Qi to reach this goal, and have secured land for one million trees (planting an average of 1500 trees per hectare). As of April 2010, we have planted 400,000 trees.
Learn how you can help at mtpchina.org
