“The nursery is a starting point for the production of high-quality planting stock, which is essential for the success of all forest restoration projects.”
With funding support from the Rajapruek Institute Foundation (RIF), FORRU-CMU is assisting the villagers of Ban Mae Sa help to maintain and improve a model community tree nursery. The nursery has 3 functions: tree production, educational outreach and research. Each year, more than 18,000 native tree seedlings are produced and cared for by the (K. Chotgun and K. Phairote) from Mae Sa village to supply tree-planting projects across the Northern region.
The nursery also serves as classroom, where a wide range of groups, interested in forest restoration, can come and learn the finer points of tree propagation. Visiting groups include international workshops, international and Thai schools, local villagers and study-abroad programs. The nursery staff join the FORRU-CMU education team in teaching core restoration concepts and hands-on processes in the nursery, such as seed cleaning, scarification, germination, seedling potting, and seedling care.
Some research is also performed at the nursery, including germination tests and seedling growth experiments. The research is currently focused on the use of biochar for accelerating growth of planting stock and improving quality.
Both RIF and FORRU-CMU hope that this community tree nursery will continue to supply high quality planting stock of framework tree species to local restoration initiatives and raise awareness forest restoration processes and benefits.
Nursery work lays the foundation for the production of high-quality planting stock, a crucial element in the success of all forest restoration projects.
