Planting a forest at home: How Stanley did it, and how you can too
Many think reforestation is only for organisations or large landowners. But Stanley Baya, A Rocha Kenya’s Community Programmes Manager, has spent two decades proving that restoration can begin at home.
“I live on just three-quarters of an acre,” Stanley says. “When I bought it in 2004, the land was completely bare. I decided to let it breathe, no cutting, no clearing, and then I began to plant.”
More than 20 years later, his home is a thriving pocket of restored forest. Indigenous trees tower over the paths, birds and butterflies have returned, and firewood needs are met through careful pruning, no tree is cut without planning.
Here’s how Stanley did it, and what we can learn from his approach.
Start with what you have
You don’t need hectares of land or expensive equipment. Stanley began with bare, degraded soil and simply stopped the destruction.
“The first thing I did was tell people not to cut anything. I let what was already there begin to grow back,” he says.
Even a garden, backyard, or shared compound has potential for trees. Conserve what exists, and add slowly from there.
Plant indigenous trees, they bring the forest back
Stanley is passionate about planting trees that truly belong to the ecosystem.
“I picked most of my seeds myself,” he says. “Now those trees are tall. Strong. Full of life.”
For Stanley, indigenous trees are the cornerstone of the ecosystem. “It’s not enough to just plant trees,” he explains. “We must plant the right trees, the ones that naturally belong in a place.”
Too often, we favour exotic species over indigenous ones. But indigenous trees offer unique benefits: they support native birds and butterflies, provide higher-quality firewood over time, and restore the ecosystem more effectively than fast-growing exotics.
“When you replace indigenous trees, you’re replacing a whole ecosystem,” says Stanley. “Some creatures, like butterflies, need very specific trees to survive. Without those, they disappear too.”
Use firewood sustainably: Prune, don’t cut
Even on a small plot, Stanley meets his firewood needs without harming the forest he has grown. He prunes a few Neem trees carefully, lets the branches dry, and uses them for cooking or an occasional barbecue.
“You can be self-sufficient,” he says. “But only if you think ahead, plan well, and aim to conserve the trees.”
Let the birds come back
Since restoring his land, Stanley has seen several bird species in his compound. These include Golden Oriole, Narina Trogon, Kingfishers, Bulbuls, Red-capped Robin-chat, and Black-bellied Starlings.
He has also built small nesting boxes, which the birds seem to enjoy.
“It’s a wonderful thing to just sit outside in the morning and listen,” he says. “You feel like something has returned.”
You don’t need to plant a forest, just begin one
Stanley’s message is simple: start small. Choose a corner of your plot, conserve a sapling, plant one indigenous tree, and wait.
“You don’t have to fill your whole shamba,” he says. “Just give space for nature to come back. It will.”
Final thought
Stanley often says that planting indigenous trees returns ecological gold to the land. In a world constantly clearing and replacing, his story is a quiet reminder that restoration is possible, and it can start with one tree, one patch of soil, one decision not to cut.
“Maybe I won’t harvest the trees I planted,” he says. “But someone in the next generation will, as long as they plant more.”
