It all started from
a dream
In my dream I realized I needed to start a journey. I knew I had to do something for the nature but I had no particular specialty in line with environment or nature. But I decided to plant trees. I had always associated trees with nature and ever since childhood I always liked trees. I remember there was an apple tree in our house which I liked so much. The tree was cut down and I cried for days.
Later on, in my teenage I loved an only tree in the middle some valley around Mashhad. I would go to visit the tree every Tuesday. I vividly remember the day I went over, but that tree was also cut down.
When I began my journey, I started by planting trees symbolically in non-educational spaces and parks. After some time, I questioned my purpose and wondered why I was doing it. It felt like I’m doing something pointless.
I was in the second month of my trip when the idea occurred to me to plant trees with children (January 2007). From that point on, whenever I reached cities and villages, I spoke to schools and planted trees with children
Seven months into my journey, I vividly remember a day in Thailand. After planting a tree, we were sitting and talking with a group of children gathered around me. A 7-year-old girl approached and handed me a piece of paper. On it, she had drawn a heart and written: ‘Mohammad, please take care of yourself. I love you.'”
In the workshops I held with children, I used travel and its attractions as a way to connect with them more effectively. The focus of the workshops was on nature, especially trees. I was constantly thinking about how to expand these teachings. Gradually, I realized that I couldn’t do it alone.
I just thought I could recruit local people and train them to work with children. Using local individuals had several advantages: they didn’t need to travel, and there were no additional costs for food and accommodation. I was eager to involve and teach them, allowing me to reach a larger circle of children.
“Little by little, I started thinking about registering an association. I attempted twice—once in the Netherlands and once in Spain—to register the We Need Trees association, but both attempts failed. On the suggestion of my friend Benno, I went to Switzerland to try again. There, Ron and Marcy joined me, and the association was successfully registered in Geneva in 2015. I had known Marcy and Ron since 2012, and we had been friends ever since.
To be continued…
