Without trees, the reddish earth made the mountain look eerie -- more like a mining site. Or Mars. That was my impression of the area I saw during a forest-planning trip to Nan province last year.
But the bleak landscape failed to keep my attention. I had other things to worry about. I needed to make sure I wouldn't trip into the hole in which I had just placed a tree sapling.
I was born clumsy, with my left foot in the right shoe. I had a vision of little tap roots being torn apart.
"Perhaps I should stay home, or go to a shopping mall as I usually do. Isn't it better to just donate money to the tree planting campaign," the voice in my head said.
Anchalee Kongrut writes about the environment in the Life section, Bangkok Post.
The forest I tried to plant in this tiny province has become famous, but not in a favourable way. Scenes of denuded mountains expose the ecological devastation brought by mass corn plantations that supply the multi-billion baht feedstock industry.
The reforestation was meant to be a pilot project aimed at creating a sustainable forest plantation model, with local villagers as the central point.
The increasing concern over massive loss of forest land has turned Nan into a new experimental site for urban dwellers who want to help protect forests. The latest and most famous one was spearheaded by Apisit "Joey Boy" Opasaimlikit and DJ Suharit Siamwalla.
The popularity of the tree planting campaign reconfirms my belief that a crisis can create new opportunities.
Deforestation and drought problems have triggered a new round of environmental awareness, this time on an individual level.
The campaign "Plook Loei", which drew a legion of urban dwellers, has been quite a success. Another promising campaign was the youth camp for forest planting at Doi Chiang Dao Watershed Forest in Chiang Mai province early this month.
The campaign, funded by urban conservation group BiG Trees and Greenpeace (Thailand) included a forum where respected conservationists and experts shared knowledge about ecology. The participants, totalling over 500, exceeded the initial target of 300.
Of course, there are pundits and cynics who deride the city slickers' tree planting mission as a "fad".
Such cynicism is understandable since we have witnessed many tree planting campaigns under the corporate social responsibility concept. What mostly happens is an entourage of executives and media travel by plane (of course) to plant a few trees, take photos and fly back home.
Then, professional PR folk hand the media press kits (printed on one side of the paper) in eye-catching cloth bags.
But it is useless to be cynical. In my opinion, the "Plook Loei" campaign is headed in the right direction. Apparently, those involved are trying to understand the problem, and in a bid to boost community engagement, have consulted with villagers and monks.
They also try to find appropriate plant species for local consumption and biodiversity.
Of course, the plan is not flawless, and lately there have been reports of resistance among some villagers. Only time will tell whether "Plook Loei" is short-lived as many have predicted. But I still hope they will overcome the obstacles and make a sustainable achievement.
The question is whether the good hearts and the bare hands of individuals are enough to rescue our national forests? Absolutely not.
Tree-loving individuals need to move campaigning to the policy level. If that happens, I believe urban celebrities like rapper Joey Boy and DJ Suharit can be excellent mouthpieces.
Apart from renewed activism in tree planting, there are interesting new ideas on forest management philosophy -- one among them is an economic incentive concept that allows villagers in non-ecologically sensitive forest areas to cut a few trees in exchange for their protection efforts. There is land zoning to keep mass cultivation away from watershed areas.
Another alternative for reforestation is a project called Tree Bank which allows community people to earn incomes from trees and from protecting them at the same time. All I can say is we are living in interesting times.
A long journey always starts with the first step. For city people like us, awkwardly walking in degraded forest just to plant a few trees might be a good start. Just be careful when you are there. Do not ruin any saplings or seeds.
But if you are a fumbler like me, all you need to do is plant a bit more.