Update from Zomba TREEZ
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If you would like to support their virtual Run4Reforestation fundraiser, take a look at their Just Giving website for more information and don't forget to send over a photo of yourself. More details in their letter below:
To all at George Watson's College and Watson's Malawi Partnership
We would like to express a heartfelt thank you for the donation to our TREEZ conservation project.
We received your donation from Aaron on Saturday. It is very much appreciated and incredibly well timed as we desperately need to buy more tools for our current fire prevention work.
Fire-prevention challenge
This year the fire season will be harder to deal with as it started very early. It is only mid August and yet, the country looks like mid-October. It is deeply concerning.
The football/netball teams are being put to the test as this year their sponsorship money will be reduced. They have said they understand and have promised to continue their work.
We also started sponsoring two new teams: one from our side of the Plateau which has lead to some healthy competition between the teams, and one from the other side of the Plateau where many of the fires were started. The sponsorship so far seems to have helped so we will have to see as the dry season progresses.
Reforestation progress
Earlier in the year, TREEZ was proud to pay out over MK1,500,000 to three separate groups for their help in planting, protecting and maintaining more than 8,000 seedlings and young trees between them. We are definitely seeing progress on that front.
A big area along the Mulunguzi river on the Plateau was also replanted and maintained, thereby protecting the city’s water catchment.
Difficult start for the new school education programme and fuel-efficient stove-burning project
We started a small environmental education program with eight of the local schools. This was paired with an interschool football/netball tournament and quiz so as to encourage the children and schools to participate. This looked like it would be very successful but sadly had to be aborted due to Covid-19. We hope to be able to resume it next year.
A new project we were hoping to start as well was a fuel efficient stove building campaign which would involve teaching families how to build and maintain a more fuel efficient stove. This would cut their fuel consumption by over 60% as well as reduce smoke inhalation and potential burning incidents in children in particular. This one has had to be shelved for now while we concentrate on the fire season.
Run4reforestation fundraiser
Also, as we are not going to able to have a Run4Reforestation here, we decided to make it a virtual run. Now GWC is familiar with this already as you did this last year, but this year, students can organize their own campaigns through JustGiving, or download a sponsorship form from the Zomba TREEZ website or simply make a one-off donation via Just Giving. Tom’s cousin also set up a Letsdothis page so lots of options out there :)
The students can take their pic…. literally too: As part of the virtual run, we kindly ask that participants tag us and send us their pictures! I would like to make a collage of all the pictures of the runners at the end :)
Also, I am sure you are aware that we are working with Tristan Weller and the Netball for All project that he has set up in his mother’s name.
Collapse of tourism in Zomba
From a business point of view, as you can imagine, we have been hit hard. We lost all our international bookings within one week and gradually lost local bookings too. However, it is not all doom and gloom. After two months of closure and having kept all our staff on full wages, we reopened. We have pushed and pushed and are now picking up regular weekend guests, enough to keep our noses out water, which is more than many in the hospitality industry can say so we try to not to complain too much.
More worrying for us are the trickle down effects of the collapse of tourism on conservation efforts worldwide; on the game parks, nature conservancies, forest reserves etc. Also, the loss of income from the hundreds of thousands of people worldwide who were working on the sidelines of tourism: curio sellers, fruit and vegetable vendors, tour guides, drivers etc.
One exciting thing that has happened is that TREEZ is now a fully registered UK charity - or rather the Malawian counterpart of Zomba TREEZ is. TREEZ will act as fundraisers for Zomba TREEZ essentially.
If there is anything you would like us to do, or if you can think of something that might help, in any way, please do ask. We are happy to help in any way we can :)
In the meantime, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay sane.
Tom and Petal
