Mosha is a 7 ha forest which was surrounded by degraded grazing land. For the last years the degradation level of the surrounding land has become more serious and the grazing effect has been intense on the forest. And our original plan was to rescue this forest by fencing all round the 7 ha. However more opportunity is created in the process of discussing the issue with the community and local government official.

The surrounding 10 ha degraded grazing land which used to be communal grazing land cannot be continued like before and instead some soil conservation physical structure should be done on it and designated as future rehabilitation forest site as part of the church forest. This meant the community contributed free labour to do the conservation work and now the land is transferred to the church to be part of the forest. This has created a wide buffer area and potential of expanding the forest. Accordingly we shifted our strategy from fencing all around to only focusing on the vulnerable side where many people live near by.

So we are now:
1. Mosha church forest has got more land and in future will increase from 7 to 17 ha
2. We have finished constructing nearly 1.1 km stone wall and seems all over Mosha project is finished.

Below is an update from Alemayehu on the Woji church forest in Ethiopia:

After long discussion with the community finally the new boundary has been defined and agreed. As you may see in the picture the blue paint on the tree shows the new boundary mark of the church forest. The new boundary actually is almost what we draw last time with you here (a little bit pushed outward). I am happy to tell that the new boundary is positively recognized and accepted by the local residents, church leaders and local government officials.

Then as you may see in the picture the fencing has been started. Per the discussion with the people, this year we will finish constructing the fences all round the boundary with minimum 70-80 cm height (half of it already done). Then next year they promised to increase the height of the wall and make the gate, which means the focus of this year should be delineating the boundary and putting the land mark. I think this is a great progress and more than my expectation from Woji.

Church Forest Preview from Greg Vander Veer on Vimeo.

Church Forest reveals a mystical world where priests and scientists struggle to come together, despite vastly different beliefs,  to save the last forests of Northern Ethiopia. Through stunning religious ceremonies, humorous moments with eccentric scientists, revealing macro-photography, and traditional Ethiopian music, Church Forest is a film about the multifaceted importance of the forest and the struggle of humans to reconcile their beliefs for a common cause. TREE Foundation’s Executive Director, Dr. Meg Lowman, was the catalyst of this conservation effort, and also the link for the film-makers to take on this effort. We all collectively hope that media, plus science and religion, will combine to achieve success in saving Ethiopia’s precious church forests.

The feature-length documentary film will be released in 2014 and the filmmakers are currently raising money to finish post-production. We believe this film will not only be instrumental in creating an international movement to save the church forests, but will also teach a powerful message of collaboration that is universally important. Please visit www.churchforest.com or email us at churchforestmovie@gmail.com to donate or become involved to help bring the inspiring message of Church Forest to the world.

CanopyMeg and TREE Foundation are working to conserve the Church Forests of Ethiopia. Find out more and how you can help.

CanopyMeg and TREE Foundation are working to conserve the Church Forests of Ethiopia. Find out more and how you can help.

Below is a Letter of Appreciation in PDF format from Aba Endrias, Archbishop of South Gondar Diocese.

Letter of Appreciation (in Ahmaric)

Letter of Appreciation (translated to English)

Download (PDF, 450KB)

For her 9th birthday, Grace threw a fundraiser at a local retro-themed arcade for friends and classmates. In lieu of presents, she collected donations to raise money for the TREE Foundation to support protecting church forests in Ethiopia in honor of her sister, who was born in Ethiopia. The guests had a ball playing retro arcade games like Pac-Man and Frogger and were happy to donate to a great cause.

Thanks go out to Grace for such a wonderful idea and to everyone that donated to the TREE Foundation for Ethiopia Church Forest conservation! Happy Birthday Grace!

Abstract:
Two new oribatid mite species, Austrocarabodes (Uluguroides) kluttzi Ermilov, Winchester, Lowman & Wassie sp. nov. (Carabodidae) and Pilobatella lowmanae Ermilov, Winchester & Wassie sp. nov. (Haplozetidae), are described from the Afro-montane forests, in the northern highlands of Ethiopia. An identification key to all known species of Pilobatella is given. An annotated checklist of identified oribatid mite taxa sampled in this study is presented. Fourteen species, six genera and three families are recorded for the first time from Ethiopia.

From the article:

The species Pilobatella lowmanae is named after Dr. Meg Lowman, who is instrumental in promoting the ongoing research mission to study the arthropod biodiversity associated with Ethiopian Church Forests and who has worked tirelessly on promoting these global “hotspots” as critical conservation areas. Her passion for science and international leadership have led to establishing partnerships with the Christian Orthodox clergy, implementing sustainability initiatives and involving local communities to adopt best practices to solve the environmental challenges faced by these forests.

Full article:

Download (PDF, 853KB)

Read the full article.

Download the audio.

Audio of the podcast is also available on Generation Anthropocene, where you can find other great science podcasts.