Location: Kpandebu Dama Funded by: Rainforest Trust This year, with funding from Rainforest Trust, we are undertaking a comprehensive Rapid Forest Assessment of Kpandebu Dama Tihun Forest, a unique island forest on the Moa river in eastern Sierra Leone. Through…
Location: Kenema In 2026, we partnered with Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary to deliver their Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots Programme in schools across Kenema District, eastern Sierra Leone. Through this collaboration, we provide training and learning resources to students on…
Location: Kenema District, Sierra Leone Environmental education remains at the heart of our mission. In 2025, we expanded our Environmental Education Programme called The Environmental Journey from a small number of schools to 10 primary and secondary schools, reaching more…
Location: Bafawahun, Diama, Kotomahun, Nekabo In 2025, we launched an ambitious community-led reforestation programme to restore degraded landscapes across four rural communities in Kenema District, eastern Sierra Leone. With the help of SLEM volunteers, residents, and community leaders, we planted…
Location: Kenema City, Bafawahun Village Funded by: Fundraising on GoFundMe In 2024, we partnered with schools and the rural community of Bafawahun to promote climate-smart agriculture and sustainable farming. Through practical, hands-on learning, students and community members gained knowledge of…
Read the article here: We’re delighted that the Global Landscapes Forum has featured an important story on the growing challenge of human and wildlife conflict in Sierra Leone. The article highlights community-led efforts to protect chimpanzees while supporting livelihoods,…
On October 3, 2025, SLEM officially launched its landscape restoration initiative in Bafawahun, marking the start of a long-term effort to restore degraded ecosystems and strengthen community resilience in eastern Sierra Leone. Backed by a €5,000 grant from the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the project aims to plant 10,000 native trees across four rural communities: Bafawahun, Diama, Kotomahun, and Nekabo, and in ten schools in Kenema City.
In just two weeks, over 3,500 trees were planted, and four community nurseries were established, collectively nurturing more than 14,100 seedlings, exceeding initial targets. Beyond tree planting, the initiative is expanding The Environmental Journey (EJ), SLEM’s flagship environmental education program, to ten more schools, empowering young Sierra Leoneans with knowledge and practical skills to care for their environment.
Each community has identified and begun restoring ecologically vital sites, from degraded riverbanks and deforested watersheds to newly designated school forests. Through community engagement, local bylaws, and signed MoUs, the project ensures long-term protection of restoration areas.
This initiative is more than a tree-planting campaign; it is a shared commitment between communities and SLEM to safeguard forests, protect livelihoods, and build resilience in the face of climate change.
Sierra Leone Environment Matters (SLEM), with the support of education experts, has successfully completed a comprehensive training program for school teachers and SLEM volunteers from Kenema and surrounding rural communities.
The training equips participants to deliver SLEM’s hands-on environmental education program across all school levels in Kenema District, fostering awareness and active engagement in environmental conservation among students.
This milestone was made possible thanks to funding support from the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), enabling SLEM to strengthen environmental education and help to nurture the next generation of environmentally conscious leaders in Sierra Leone.
Date: 14 August 2025 Location: Kotomahun, Koya Chiefdom, Sierra Leone Yesterday, during an unannounced routine check in one of the community forests in Kambui South, our team uncovered alarming signs of environmental destruction. This section of the forest, located in…
