Written on 18 September 2014, 18.26
 A new butterfly species was discovered by Szabolcs Sáfián, Institute of Silviculture and Forest Protection, University of West Hungary, while carrying out a survey in collaboration with the Forest Project. The new species, Neurellipes rhoko, is described in the September 2014 edition of Zootaxa, a leading scientific journal. Discovery of a new species is such a rare event that it also hit the headlines in the national press (Nigerian Tribune, 18 September, The Guardian, 5 October). The discovery...
Written on 13 September 2014, 10.57
 From 11 to 13 September the IITA Forest Project hosted Dr Andrew Bowkett and Louise Coombes (Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust) and staff of Omo Forest Reserve, Amos Owoniyi (Education Officer), Ademola Lawal (Assistant Education Officer), and Titus Onywere (Head Ranger). The purpose of the visit was for the visitors from Omo F. R. to see the work of the IITA Forest Project and compare challenges facing the different forest reserves.
Written on 10 September 2014, 11.50
 The headquarters of IITA in Ibadan is known throughout Nigeria for its beautiful campus with forest, lakes, and landscaped grounds. Perhaps less well known is its status as an Important Bird Area (IBA) where 269 bird species have been recorded. In September the IITA-Ibadan campus was re-registered with BirdLife International as an IBA. Deni Bown completed the necessary forms with assistance from Dr Manu Shiiwua, Director of the A.P. Leventis Ornithological Institute (APLORI), University of Jos,...
Written on 29 May 2014, 11.43
 On May 29 Deni Bown joined Desmond Majekodunmi and other presenters and guests on an edition of the radio program Green Hour in which the benefits of gardening and the aims of the Lagos Garden Show were discussed. The principal guest was Winihin Jemide who initiated and organized the 3-day event which this year was held in the Oriental Hotel from 30 May to 1 June. Two stands were taken by IITA, including one in which the Forest Project showcased its activities. Kunle Olasupo, Field Supervisor, set...
Written on 21 May 2014, 11.38
 On May 21 the Green Minds conservation group held a tree planting event at schools in Ibadan. The Forest Project donated 50 trees and Emmanuel Olabode, Project Supervisor, spoke about the importance of trees for environmental, biological, cultural and economic reasons. This was followed by a practical demonstration of how to plant a tree and care for it. The following schools participated: Army Day High school, Mokola Barracks; Urban Day High School, Jericho; Eleyele Secondary School; Eleyele High...
Written on 15 May 2014, 11.36
 A one-day workshop on setting up a School Conservation Club (SCC) was organized jointly by NCF and the Forest Project and held at IITA, Ibadan, on 15 May. The training program aimed to show participants how to set up a conservation club, and provide a basis for extending this training to others. Attendees included representatives from local government, state primary and secondary schools, and private schools from the target area of Ibadan, Ilesa and Osogbo, together with an independent...
Written on 16 April 2014, 11.30
 A visit to the Forest Project was made on 16 April by the Forestry Department, Ekiti State Ministry of Environment, and Ekiti State Tree Growers’ Association. The visit was facilitated by Dr Oliver Owen, University of Oxford Department of International Development, and authorized by Forestry Department Director General Felix Akinluyi. Participants included: Director A. K. Akinola, Plantation Development and Agroforestry; Director O.B. Olatilu, Non-Timber Forest Produce; Director E. O. Olaoye,...
Written on 15 April 2014, 11.25
 Emmanuel Olabode and Kunle Olasupo, Forest Project supervisors, were among IITA staff who attended Oyo State Economic Summit on 14-15 April. This major event was held at the Civic Centre, Idi Ape, Ibadan. The Forest Project stand attracted crowds of people. Many had never before seen forest trees growing in pots and were not aware that they can be cultivated. It was an eye-opener to hear that we can - and do - plant new forests!
Written on 14 March 2014, 02.34
 The annual meeting of IITA Alumni took place this year at IITA headquarters in Ibadan. On March 14 alumni were taken on a guided walk through the IITA Forest Reserve and reforestation areas by Deni Bown, Forest Project Manager, Emmanuel Olabode, Project Supervisor, and Kunle Olasupo, Field Supervisor. Afterwards alumni gathered to plant a tree in the Forest Project’s Staff Garden to commemorate the occasion. The tree chosen was Alstonia boonei which is much used in Yorubaland to lower fever. This...
Written on 07 March 2014, 02.30
 The inaugural meeting of the Ibadan Bird Club took the form of a three-day Training Workshop (5-7 March) entitled “Citizen Science and Bird Conservation in Nigeria”. The first day provided basic information about birds and why they are important. This was followed by field training at Awba Dam, University of Ibadan, on the second day, and at the IITA Golf Course on day three. The Ibadan Bird Club is coordinated by Emmanuel Olabode, Forest Project Supervisor, and facilitated by the Nigerian...
Written on 26 February 2014, 02.22
 IITA Forest Project-Nigerian Conservation Foundation Schools Conservation Club (SCC) for the Ibadan-Ilesa-Osogbo area was launched at an inaugural meeting held for teaching staff from the following schools: St Anne’s School, Molete; St Andrew’s Anglican Primary School, Agbirigidi Akinyere; Anglican Commercial Grammar School, Oritamefa, Ansar-ud-deen Secondary School, Liberty Oke Ado; Bodija International School, Ibadan; C.A.C. Primary School, Akinyele; St Anthony’s Catholic High School, Ilesa; Holy...
Written on 03 January 2014, 02.02
 The New Year was welcomed by publication of the second in our series of pocket guide books. Common Plants of IITA by Forest Project manager Deni Bown, describes 64 of the most common trees, shrubs, climbers, and herbs (non-woody plants) found in the 1000-ha campus of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan. It includes mainly plants indigenous to southwest Nigeria, along with some exotics which are widely planted as ornamentals and in some cases have become invasive weeds....
Written on 05 December 2013, 15.44
 Publication of "Nigerian Forests – Protection and Sustainable Development" was celebrated by a launch of the book at Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State, Nigeria. Editors Eyo Okon, Augustine Isichei, and Deni Bown presided over the event, and Professor David Okali, eminent expert on Nigeria’s forests, gave an address. Nigerian Forests (ISBN: 978-978-8447-009) is published by JABU as the first volume in a series that collects together papers delivered during an...
Written on 15 August 2013, 11.19
 On 15th August the IITA Forest Project’s new forest resource garden was formally accepted as a Sacred Seeds Sanctuary http://www.sacredseedssanctuary.org/gardens/iita-forest-reserve-ethnobotanical-garden. This global network of gardens, which is run by the William L. Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden (USA), aims to protect and propagate indigenous plants that are of importance in traditional culture, health and welfare. It is the third garden in Africa to become a Sacred Seeds Sanctuary, the...
Written on 11 June 2013, 11.17
 The annual tree planting by IITA International School took place on 11 June at a new reforestation site where IITA Drive joins the lake. Over 50 trees were planted by children in this location which adjoins earlier plantings where saplings are now over 3 m high.
Written on 20 May 2013, 11.14
 IITA–Forest Project held events to celebrate Fascination of Plants Day at the IITA International School on 17 May and at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) on 20 May. This global event takes place annually under the auspices of the European Plant Science Organization (EPSO), and aims to encourage more interest in plants and a wider appreciation of their importance in our lives. Deni Bown, Project Manager, under the pseudonym Dr Forest, gave a presentation with the title...
Written on 25 February 2013, 11.11
The Forest Project is a focus for visits by schools. On 16 January and 5 February 2013 children from IITA International School went seed collecting. They came back with colorful Afzelia seeds, bush mangoes (Irvingia wombulu), velvety Millettia pods, and a bucketful of huge papery Pterocarpus osun fruits. Forest Project staff showed how to clean and sow the seeds which are now growing well outside the Science Room. When large enough, the young trees will be planted by the children as part of the...
Written on 21 December 2012, 12.06
 The 2012 tree planting season drew to a close as the International Association of Research Scholars and Fellows (IARSAF) planted 50 trees beside the lake on 9 October to while holding their symposium at IITA, and Dr Ylva Hillbur, IITA’s Deputy Director General, Research for Development, planted a tree on 21 November to mark the launch of the global Humidtropics program (www.humidtropics.org), 15-year innovative CGIAR research program led by IITA. The tree planted by Dr Hillbur is...
Written on 05 September 2012, 09.20
 As IITA becomes increasingly ‘centre stage’ as the leading research partner in finding solutions to hunger, malnutrition and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, more top-level visits and meetings are taking place at the Ibadan HQ. One item that is always on the agenda is a visit to the Forest Reserve and a look at Forest Project activities. VIP visitors in July included Dr. Carlos Pérez del Castillo, Chair of the CGIAR Consortium Board, Dr. Frank Rijsberman, Consortium Chief Executive Officer, and...
Written on 28 April 2012, 00.00
 On 28th April the Kakofoni Arts Foundation held a fund-raising event in Lagos to support the Forest Project. The aim was to raise one million naira which will go towards developing a Demonstration Medicinal Herb Garden, restoring the IITA Arboretum and buying a water pump. Though core funding for the Forest Project is provided by the Leventis Foundation, these major enterprises require additional funding due to cost increases in materials, wages, fuel and services. Yes we can!! The target one...
Written on 27 April 2012, 00.00
 Celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of the IITA International School on 27 April 2012 began with planting an iroko tree. Every child participated by putting soil into the planting hole and singing happy birthday to their school. The iroko tree was donated by the Forest Project, represented at the event by Deni Bown, Coordinator, and Kunle Olusapo, Nursery Manager. Kunle spoke to the children and school staff about how the young tree was grown from seed collected by the Forest Project from...
Written on 31 December 2011, 00.00
 On the last day of 2011 Dr John Peacock officially resigned his position as Project Manager of the Leventis-funded IITA Forest Project. It was thanks to Dr Peacock’s vision for protecting the IITA Forest Reserve and reforesting other areas that the Forest Project began in February 2010. The first step was to set up a nursery. This rapidly became so successful at propagating indigenous trees that the first young trees were large enough for planting by the end of August the same year. These...
Written on 03 November 2011, 00.00
 A seedling baobab (Adansonia digitata), which will grow 25m tall and up to 12m in girth, was planted by IITA International School’s Kindergarten with help from IITA Forest Project Coordinator Deni Bown. The next day she took part in a similar activity with older children at Pade Science School, Ibadan, who planted Pterocarpus osun, from which the traditional black soap, dudu osun is made. The IITA School’s baobab joins some large specimens of silk cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) and...
Written on 24 October 2011, 00.00
 A few days before retiring as Director General of IITA, Dr Peter Hartmann planted an iroko tree, donated by the IITA Forest Project. The choice of tree was apt for a man of stature, iroko (Milicia excelsa) being a sacred tree in Nigeria, both as a symbol of male strength and as the first tree created by God, from which souls come forth to the newborn. The event was attended by IITA Executive staff. Dr Paula Bramel, Deputy Director General for Research, welcomed everyone and Deni Bown,...
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PLANT OF THE MONTH
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The African whitewood (Triplochiton scleroxylon), known as arere in Yoruba and obeche in Bini, is a large fast-growing tree, reaching 65 m (213 ft), usually with a straight trunk and buttresses up to about 8 m (26 ft) high. It belongs to the family Sterculiaceae and is common in semi-deciduous rainforests from Sierra Leone to Gabon and Congo, including secondary forests where it may fill gaps as a pioneer species.
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PLANTS OF THE MONTH ARCHIVE
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