Seeds of all kinds planted last year when this project was launched are now bearing fruit - a direct result of contributions through globalgiving. See what's happened so far in 2010...

The Nursery :: 4000 seedlings grown from collected and purchased seeds are being prepared for planting out in June by each of four village communities. The trees will be planted in water flush areas to maintain the quality of water-supply for the community.

The Organisation :: Green Care Shisong is very proud to have been given responsibility for the direct management of Bikov community forest. This is a large area of community owned forest which has suffered from over-exploitation and increasing pressure on resources. Green Care now plan to develop a project to protect the forest for the future by promoting its sustainabloe use for food, timber and tourism. A plan for a guided trail has already been proposed and we all hope that volunteers with BTCV will also be able to help out with its construction in 2011. Watch this space...

The People :: Cajetan Ndzedzeka who spent three months working in Britain with BTCV last year funded by a Commonwealth Professional Scholarship is back at home now, but we look forward to seeing him again soon - he's applying for post-graduate study in Environmental Management in the UK. We're hoping Green Care Director Gilbert Njodzeka can join us in a similar way this year and along with partners from Uganda and Lesotho start working on an African network of organisations that can share and replicate their experiences.

The Funding :: during his time with BTCV, Cajetan attended training courses in a number of things, including fundraising. This training formed part of the support provided by the Trees for Water for Life in Cameroon project. Last month we were delighted to hear that Green Care has been awarded just under £6000 from the Rufforf Maurice Laing Small Grants scheme to develop the work in Bikov community forest.

This isn't a multi-million pound project - it's small, practical and locally driven - just what we in BTCV like best. It's great to see real success already, but importantly, the seeds that you have helped to plant are even now, only starting to show their potential.

Pictures:

• Green Care team (Cajetan 2nd left) in the nursery (JPG)