Lost in a Forest!!!
I could not wait to see what nearly four years of new growth would do to a devastated section of a mangrove forest. My eyes leapt with excitement as we approached a wall of fresh green over 8 feet tall. As we stepped off our canoes onto a piece of land that was once stripped of its forest and slowly bleeding its muddy surface into the ever expanding canal, we were enveloped by a new forest. The tallest of these trees stood over 12 feet tall and were starting to reproduce, preparing to drop the next generation of propagules into the muddy surface of a restored mangrove forest. In another 5 years, these trees will likely tower 30 feet in the air returning the forest to what it once was: a refuge for animals, a life source for people, a carbon off-setter, an erosion filterer, etc. It was beautiful to watch the planters proudly touch the trees as they walked through the forest, knowing their hands planted each tree that now stood strong. And strong they stood, millions upon millions of trees in a forest that took over 90 minutes to walk through. It brought forth a sense of hope. A hope that will become reality when the miles upon miles of cleared forest will one day look similar to this. The feelings that stirred within me reminded me of the words of God after He created the world, “It is good”.
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