Malawi is one of the smallest countries in Africa but has one of the densest populations and with over 90% of people depending on trees for fuelwood for cooking/heating but increasingly for construction (they are used to burn the bricks), the country's forests and wild spaces are dwindling rapidly. With the loss of trees, the water table drops, rivers and streams which used to flow all year round now dry up in the long dry season. The lack of water means that cultivation is made harder, access to clean water increasingly difficult and all the other issues that devolve from there.

Being able to protect/preserve any area of forest/trees is essential, and TREEZ is working hard on the south western slopes of Zomba Plateau to achieve this.

Malawi's climate is divided into 2 main seasons: a wet season and a dry season. The dry season runs from June into November, and from cold to hot. The hotter it gets, the drier the land and the higher the risk of fires.

These fires are all man-made, borne from poverty and lack of education. They are not part of the natural life cycle here.

Poverty drives people to light fires in the bush to catch mice and other rodents which constitute a valuable source of protein.

Lack of education means that people don't understand the dangers that the fires constitute for the environment, that the fires will destroy the growth of future trees, will cause the damage to the ecosystems, will destabilise the soil etc.

For the past 6 years TREEZ has been working hard to try and reduce the number of fires on the south western slopes of the Zomba Plateau and on the Plateau itself, and has shown huge success, at least on the southern slopes. The number of fires in a dry season has been reduced from 37 to 1; the areas of natural regeneration are steadily growing, the planted trees are doing great and on this side of the Plateau at least, the level of deforestation has decreased.

And the results of this success has meant that the slopes are showing positive signs of growth where young naturally regenerated trees are now 3 to 4 metres tall, and planted ones are doing nearly as well.

All this is thanks to the football/netball teams (4 combined netball and football teams) and community conservation groups who are sponsored in exchange of conservation help and to local community groups who are maintaining the young trees and allowing them to grow unimpeded and to all groups helping to teach the younger ones environmental awareness and to all of them combined who are helping to show their fellow villagers a smarter way of harvesting their firewood.

But with the all the world issues, funds are hard to come by.

In short, TREEZ needs help to get through the dry season.

We need to buy tools for the various teams to create firebreaks

Slashers x 60 = 420

Sickles x 30 180

Hoes x 20 = 120

Fire beaters x 50 = 250

Patrols = 2,500.

There is much more that is needed but we realise that most people's purses are already stretched.

I am so sorry but please check our website for pictures (www.zombatreez.com) as JustGiving site is not allowing me to post any - and I cannot figure out why :/ Sorry.