Turns Out, Planting Trees Is the Easy Part
Hey Everyone!
This summer brought important milestones for Ski Club Uganda—from new restoration insights in the Rwenzori Mountains to exciting educational partnerships and upcoming national media coverage.
As our work continues to evolve, we're increasingly focused on ensuring that the trees we plant today survive and thrive for years to come.
From Tree Planting to Tree Growing
One of the most important lessons from this year's fieldwork is that restoration doesn't end when a tree is planted.
During our June expedition, we assessed trees planted in 2025 and found that more than half had survived. While this is encouraging, a severe dry season revealed just how vulnerable young trees remain during their first several years of growth.
As a result, Ski Club Uganda is shifting its focus from planting as many trees as possible to supporting the long-term health of the forests we're helping restore. Future efforts will place greater emphasis on tree monitoring, community-led maintenance, and aftercare strategies that improve survival rates over time.
2026 Expedition by the Numbers
Together, five students and four faculty members monitored previously planted trees, planted 1,832 new native trees, and conducted 45 community surveys. These surveys are helping us better understand local perspectives on environmental restoration and identify opportunities to strengthen community engagement.
The data collected this year will inform future restoration efforts and help ensure that our work is guided by both science and community priorities.
Building Opportunities Through Education
Our long-standing collaboration with Penn State University is opening an exciting new chapter.
We're excited to announce a new partnership that will bring 10–12 students to Uganda in June 2027 as part of a semester-long course focused on landscape restoration.
The course will combine classroom learning with hands-on field experience in the Rwenzori Mountains, allowing students to contribute directly to ongoing restoration efforts while learning from local communities, researchers, and conservation practitioners.
We hope this partnership will serve as a model for future university collaborations and create new pathways for students to engage in meaningful, community-driven environmental work.
We’ll be sharing more about the course and this exciting collaboration in the months ahead!
Ski Club Uganda Featured by Outside's Ski Magazine
We're honored to share that Outside's Ski Magazine has published a feature story about Ski Club Uganda.
The story highlights the unique history of skiing in equatorial Uganda while exploring how conservation, community development, and adventure tourism intersect in the Rwenzori Mountains.
It has been pretty amazing seeing Ski Club Uganda evolve into what it is today. 2024-version of me would have never believed wed’ be here today, and it is all thanks to you, our team, funders and supporters.
Thank you,
Morgan
Ski Club Uganda
