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THE GIFT OF A TREE
Trees have been worshipped for millions of years. Evergreen boughs have decorated homes in civilisations throughout history to celebrate the Winter Solstice, symbols of hope that the sun’s light and warmth would return. Today, Christmas trees have become a global tradition, symbolic of the holiday season and gift giving.
A nest for an eagle, a Kikuyu’s shrine.
A Maasai’s toothbrush, an ailment’s remedy.
A honeybee’s house, a leopard’s rest.
A children’s classroom, a secret retreat.
A drought protector.
An oxygen giver.
A carbon cleaner.
A giver of life in every sense.
Sadly, ever since humans learnt how to wield an axe, we have almost halved the number of trees on our planet. In Kenya this year, forest fires ravaged the slopes of Mount Kenya, destroying thousands of hectares of forest habitat. The Brazilian Amazon rainforest was also hard hit by wildfires this year, but even more worryingly, 2019 saw it suffer the worst deforestation in over a decade. We are in the midst of a climate crisis. Our environment and the significance of trees has been brought into sharper focus than ever before. Today, more than ever, we need trees.
‘Ancient trees are precious. There is little else on Earth that plays host to such a rich community of life within a single living organism’ ~ Sir David Attenborough.
So, this Christmas, The Safari Collection are celebrating not what’s under our tree, but the tree itself. Turn up the volume and sing along to our fabulous Christmas song (we can’t stop – it’s very catchy!) which rejoices in the splendour of trees.
We feel thankful to live in a country so full of ancient and iconic trees which never fail to leave us with a sense of awe when we are in their presence. From the splendid ‘Queen of Trees’, or Sycamore Fig, providing refuge and sustenance to a wider variety of animals than any other African tree, to Africa’s ‘Tree of Life’, the magnificent baobab, a true people’s tree with over 300 different uses being recorded across Africa. Both trees are shrouded in ancient myth and ceremony and are part of centuries-old symbiotic relationships with both people and animals.
‘There is a magic machine that sucks carbon out of the air, costs very little, and builds itself. It’s called a tree’ ~ Greta Thunberg and Guardian editor George Monbiot in their film about climate crisis.
CARBON OFF-SETTING
This Christmas The Safari Collection are giving the gift of trees. For every guest that travels with us this festive season, we pledge to plant an indigenous ‘magic machine’ in Kenya, that will help absorb the carbon dioxide we produce and make life-giving oxygen for us to breathe.
To Kenya’s ancient forests, lone acacias, bountiful baobabs, life giving figs, powerful podos and oxygen breathing mangroves, we pledge to help protect you.
Your future depends on us. Our future depends on you.
From all of us at The Safari Collection, we wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS.
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