When the FGI Green Club in Kasubi drew a map of their neighbourhood, the thing that stood out was not what was there — it was what was missing. Forgotten lots. Bare slopes. Streets without a single shade tree.
So the club did what clubs do best: they started planning. What began as a handful of teenagers with sacks of seedlings has grown into a neighbourhood restoration project with more than 400 trees planted and counting.
Restoring land, building skills
The members learn what borders on vocational training: reading soil, choosing native species, grafting, and maintaining trees through the dry months. Sponsors often see it as a “planting club”; the members see it as a land-recovery enterprise.
- native and fruit tree nurseries started by club members,
- public green spaces adopted and maintained every weekend, and
- a small tree-sale fund that keeps the project self-supporting.
Neighbours notice, neighbours join
The effect radiates outward. Shopkeepers volunteer water. Parents show up for planting days. Local leaders ask the club to advise on public greening, because the club has become the neighbourhood’s quiet authority on growing things.
"We used to wait for someone to fix the neighbourhood," says club leader Amina, 17. "Now we are the someone."
One forest at a time
Climate action can feel enormous — a problem for governments and treaties. The Green Clubs turn it into something a seventeen-year-old can measure in seedlings and shade, in cooler streets and fuller birdsong, one forest at a time.