Regreening Kenya
41,949,000 SEEDBALLS DISTRIBUTED SINCE SEP. 2016
REGENERATION
Before & Afters
The Seedballs Kenya Langata test plot.
Chardust-Tamfeeds entrance. 2017 vs 2022
World Vision Seedball Test Site in Matuu. 2016 vs 2018
World Vision Seedball Test Site in Matuu. 2016 vs 2018
World Vision Seedball Test Site in Matuu. 2016 vs 2018
David Sheldrick SGR quarry regeneration. 2016 vs 2022
First Seedballs in Farsai Lane. 2016 vs 2020
First Seedballs in Farsai Lane. 2016 vs 2020
REGENERATION
& CLIMATE CHANGE
Seedballs Kenya
Finalist at
The Index Awards 2019 in Copenhagen.
Seedballs Kenya made it to the finalist stage of 42 initiatives out of the 1,800 that were nominated for The Index Project 2019 Design award.
VECEA VEGETATION MAP OF KENYA
CLICK ON MAP To See VECEA Vegetation Map of Kenya
MAKE A REAL IMPACT.
Help reduce your family & business's carbon footprint.
Let's reforest Kenya & reduce CO2
GO TO DONATE PAGE
41,949,000 SEEDBALLS DISTRIBUTED SINCE SEP. 2016
FACTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
& CARBON DIOXIDE
- CO2, PHOTOSYNTHESIS & CARBON-
Carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is necessary for plants and trees to grow. Forests play a specific and important role in the global carbon cycle by absorbing carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, Trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in order to build their tissues, leaves and stems, releasing oxygen in the process.
The unique chemical process that trees and plants use to turn light energy from the sun into oxygen is known as photosynthesis. During this process, trees harness the sun's energy, using it to put carbon dioxide gas together with water to produce oxygen.
During photosynthesis, plants take the energy from sunlight and use it to change carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and carbohydrates. An easy way to understand this cycle is to think that trees breathe in the carbon dioxide and exhale (breathe out) oxygen while capturing and storing carbon in their tissues.
Life as we know it would probably not exist on Earth without trees. They produce a large proportion of the oxygen that supports our biosphere.
the CARBON cycle
DEFORESTATION & CLIMATE CHANGE
Trees help our soil remain healthy by reducing soil erosion and by creating a soil climate suitable for microorganisms to grow. A tree can absorb as much as 48 pounds (21kg) of carbon dioxide per year and can sequester 1 ton of carbon dioxide by the time it reaches 40 years old.
NEGATIVES EFFECT OF DEFORESTATION
& BURNING OF FOSSIL FUELS
DEFORESTATION
Forests are vital for life, home to millions of species, they protect soil from erosion, produce oxygen, store carbon dioxide, and help control climate.Forests are also vital for us to live as they provide us with food, shelter and medicines as well as many other useful things. They also purify the air we breathe and water that we need to survive. Deforestation by humans is causing all of these necessary functions to be lessened, and hence damaging the atmosphere even further.
Forests play a huge role in the carbon cycle on our planet. When forests are cut down, not only does carbon absorption cease, but also the carbon stored in the trees is released into the atmosphere as CO2 if the wood is burned or even if it is left to rot after the deforestation process.
Smaller crops e.g. plants and agricultural crops also draw in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, however forests store up to 100 times more carbon than agricultural fields of the same area.
Deforestation is an important factor in global climate change. Climate change is because of a build up of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and if we carry on cutting down the main tool we have to diminish this CO2 build up, we can expect the climate of our planet to change dramatically over the next decades.
It is estimated that more than 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide are released to the atmosphere due to deforestation, mainly the cutting and burning of forests, every year.
Over 30 million acres of forests and woodlands are lost every year due to deforestation. According to WRI (World Resources Institute) research, 30 percent of global forest cover has been cleared, while another 20 percent has been degraded. Most of the rest has been fragmented, leaving only about 15 percent intact.
Analysis from The Nature Conservancy, WRI and others estimates that stopping deforestation, restoring forests and improving forestry practices could cost-effectively remove 7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, or as much as eliminating 1.5 billion cars—more than all of the cars in the world today!
CO2
CO2 & THE OCEANS
CO2 is also an anthropogenic greenhouse gas, ranked number one for its contributions to global warming. At the beginning of the Industrial Era (around 1750), CO2 concentrations worldwide were approximately 280 parts per million (ppm); by 1999 concentrations reached 367 ppm. (One ppm equals one molecule of CO2 for every million molecules of air, or 0.0001 percent.) CO2 emissions continue to rise; the average rate of increase since 1980 is 0.4 percent per year.
The recent rise in anthropogenic CO2 is attributed largely to fossil fuel combustion (73 percent) and land use conversion resulting from deforestation (25 percent). When oil, coal, or natural gas is burned to generate energy, the by-products are CO2 and water. Due to heavy fossil fuel consumption, the United States leads the world in anthropogenic CO2 emissions (see table). In 1996 the United States contributed more than 50 percent of the 1.027 × 1016 grams of total global CO2 emissions.
As concentrations of CO2 increase in the atmosphere, more outgoing infrared energy is trapped (energy that would have escaped to space), warming the earth's atmosphere and surface. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that the global surface temperature has increased by 1.1°F since the late nineteenth century, due to increases in CO2 and other greenhouse gases.
Since the industrial revolution, the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has increased due to the burning of fossil fuels and land use change. The ocean absorbs about 30 percent of the CO2 that is released in the atmosphere, and as levels of atmospheric CO2 increase, so do the levels in the ocean.
Carbonic Acid
When carbon dioxide dissolves in the ocean, carbonic acid is formed. This leads to higher acidity, mainly near the surface, which has been proven to inhibit shell growth in marine animals and is suspected as a cause of reproductive disorders in some fish.
Ocean acidification is affecting the entire world’s oceans, including coastal estuaries and waterways. Many economies are dependent on fish and shellfish and people worldwide rely on food from the ocean as their primary source of protein.
The oceans currently absorb about a third of human-created CO2 emissions, roughly 22 million tons a day. Projections based on these numbers show that by the end of this century, continued emissions could reduce ocean pH by another 0.5 units. Shell-forming animals including corals, oysters, shrimp, lobster, many planktonic organisms, and even some fish species could be gravely affected.
Equally worrisome is the fact that as the oceans continue to absorb more CO2, their capacity as a carbon storehouse could diminish. That means more of the carbon dioxide we emit will remain in the atmosphere, further aggravating global climate change.
"Human influence has warmed the climate at a rate that is unprecedented in at least the last 2000 years"
READ THE IPCC REPORT ON CLIMATE CHANGE HERE
10 Easy Ways to Reduce Your
Carbon Footprint
1 Absorb CO2- Plant more Trees or Donate a Bag of Seedballs.
2 Plant a Garden, Re-Wild - Help the Bees!
3 Stop Eating (or Eat Less) Meat. Don't Waste Food.
4 Unplug Your Devices & Save Electricity.
5 Drive and Fly Less. Reduce Toxic Carbon Emissions.
6 Don't Buy “Fast Fashion”- Quality Lasts.
7 Eat Locally Grown Fruit & Veg that is In Season and Organic.
8 Reduce Usage of Home Appliances & Line-Dry Your Clothes.
9 Moderate Indoor Heating & Air-Conditioning. Insulate Your Home.
10 Be Clever! Recycle and Repair. Reduce Your Waste.
41,949,000 SEEDBALLS DISTRIBUTED SINCE SEP. 2016
IPCC Report 2022
CLIMATE CHANGE
Click here to read more of the report.
Selected Chapters