【Thailand】Dreaming of the days when the dry land would be covered with green

During the dry season, drought persists and the land dries up, and during the rainy season, floods occur frequently due to continuous rainfalls. In Surin Province located in the northeast region considered to be the poorest in Thailand, farmers are suffering from this severe climate.

In this land, making a forest and fundamentally changing the soil and climate is very important, at the same time, is a difficult task. The survival rate of seedlings is low and trees grow slowly. Patience and efforts are required.

Nadeevittaya School started the Children’s Forest Program in 1998. At the time, there were few trees and little shade. But in the subsequent 12 years, its efforts have been recognized, and received many awards. For example, they received the award for tree planting activities in 1998 and in next year they got  the second prize in the “contest for tree planting and management of tree planting sites in education". In 2001, the school was selected as a school conducting excellent education in Surin Province.

The dry land has now become covered with tree shade. In the forest near the school, villagers are seen looking for mushrooms. They harvest herbs from the planted trees and used them for cooking. This is also one of the achievements by the past activities under the Children’s Forest Program.

Nadeevittaya School, Surin

Program starting year: 1998 Number of students: 580