Monitoring and Evaluation of planted trees
Manica Youth Assembly is working tirelessly taking climate action to combat the effects of climate change. In its works Manica Youth Assembly has been mobilizing school children to take part in climate action by donating trees in schools and the initiative is being appreciated. On Tuesday the 5th of April 2022 Manica Youth Assembly went to Burning Vision High School to do a monitoring and Evaluation of trees which they donated on Valentine’s Day 14 February 2022. After donating the trees the MAYA team also demonstrated on how the trees should be planted and cared for, the team also had a chance to interact with the children and explain why planting trees.
On the day for the Monitoring and evaluation MAYA team had a chance to speak with the headmaster at burning vision high school Mr. Matongo who showed much appreciation of the deeds being done by Manica Youth Assembly. The headmaster highlighted that 8 plants had an unfortunate ending when they were trampled on by people who came for a conference which was held at the school since the school is a mission school being run by the church. They were very hurt by the loss and only managed to replace two of the white gum trees by a jacaranda plant. When asked if they have time to talk about the importance of planting trees and taking action against climate change he only spoke of some topics in the curriculum and he mentioned that the MAYA team is welcome to come on scheduled dates to raise awareness about climate change and its effects.
When taking a stroll on the other side of the school one can clearly see thriving white gum trees. Speaking to the care taker of the school he sounded very excited about the trees and caring for the trees when the students are away, he said he would appreciate more trees being donated as he is enjoying being a part of those caring for the planet. He also explained how climate change has affected him when he talked about the erratic rainfall patterns and the changing of the rain season, he explained how his plants failed because the was no rain but before it never used to be like that as he used to receive enough rain and his plants would flourish but because of climate change it is now a sad story. Therefore he pledged to be an agent to take climate action and is so grateful about what Manica Youth Assembly is doing. The teachers also highlighted that the students are loving the initiative a lot as they are not having any problems with the students resisting to water the plants instead the students are being at the forefront.
The school highlighted that they are having water challenges due to the location of the school Dangamvura, a well-known location in Mutare which has water crisis, hence the water which they will be saving in their tanks sometimes may not be enough for the trees. The other challenge is that the school is still under construction therefore some areas around the school are not suitable for planting the trees as they will be disturbed by the construction team.