EarthCorps gives ideas, hope to Afghans
Volunteers teach visitors how to restore environment
At first, EarthCorps members weren’t sure what they could teach an environmental delegation from Afghanistan. But it turns out they could teach them quite a bit.
In war-torn Afghanistan, the environment has become another casualty, said Steve Dubiel, executive director of EarthCorps in Seattle. The environmental stewardship group was sought out by members of the Afghan Conservation Corps to learn more about reforestation, community involvement and rehabilitation.
The so-called “capacity building” trip to Seattle on Sept. 26 and 27 was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United Nations Office of Project Services and the World Bank. The five-member Afghan delegation, which included those with expertise in forest management and conservation education, also visited conservation groups in Oregon and California.
EarthCorps, which works with 10,000 volunteers each year in the Seattle area alone, provided a model for galvanizing local support for projects without incurring huge costs.
“Our initial thought was, what as an organization can we share that’s relevant to such a different environment?” Dubiel said.
“But what we found was that even though it’s easy to have this perception of war-torn Afghanistan, with people running around shooting, that’s only part of the story,” he said. “As with (Hurricane) Katrina, it’s about how people can come together to help each other and restore the community.”
A major concern in Afghanistan is the devastation of its pistachio forests — a source of food and citizens’ livelihoods as well as a natural habitat, Dubiel said. The forests have been chopped down for firewood and to eliminate hiding places used by soldiers, the Afghans told EarthCorps members.
Because replanting pistachio trees is a primary Afghan goal, the Seattle tour included visiting successfully replanted and restored stream areas such as Thornton Creek near Northgate.
“They all showed up in the morning with EarthCorps T-shirts and were psyched to get out there and do the work,” Dubiel said, referring to a project removing invasive plants.
He said the Afghans pulled ivy, but also saw saplings planted in 1997 that are now 20 feet tall and a 100-foot section of stream that has been rehabilitated.
“They could see change, and it’s something they can take back with them, knowing that Seattle’s a really different place, yet seeing hope for the future,” Dubiel said.
“I don’t expect them to create a massive conservation corps in Afghanistan right away, but they can exploit certain opportunities — and restoration is a great volunteer opportunity,” Dubiel said.
This story is republished from the Seattle P-I:
EarthCorps gives ideas, hope to Afghans