Ethiopia is almost completely depleted of its forest cover.
In the early 1900s, nearly forty-five percent of the country was covered by forests.
At the center of these bright-green pockets of biodiversity is almost always an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church.
Photo credit: Kieran Dodds
Churches in Ethiopia have always been covered by small forests.
Locals believe that the forest protects the sacredness of the church.
The tree canopy, they say, prevent prayers from being lost to the sky.
This makes some of these fertile oases over 1,500 years old.
The exact number of church forests is not known.
They range in size from five acres to well over one thousand.
Ethiopians revere the forests, but unknown to them, their actions have been damaging the fragile ecosystem.
They lead cattle into the forests to graze, which trample and eat seedlings.
Plants from the forest are eaten or used to make dyes.
Fallen branches and brush are sold for cash.
Wassie and Lowman suggested building low stone walls around the forests to keep wandering animals off.
The simple solution proved to be so efficient that within a few years the forests have notably thrived.
Impressed by the results, many priests started expanding the outer walls to coax the forests to grow farther.
But Wassies dreams are bigger.
Its an ambitious project, but Wassie is optimistic.
All the pieces are there, Wassie toldNational Geographic.
Hope, I got from working with the priests.
Though churches are under pressure, they are working to protect what we have.
We can bring back even more.
Left: The Tebebari Michael church in Anbesame, Amhara.
Right: The Betre Mariam church in Zege, at the edges of Lake Tana.
Photo credit: Kieran Dodds
The Gebita Giyorgis Church.
Photo credit: Kieran Dodds
Two women walk through the church forest at the Betre Mariam church near Zege.
Photo credit: Kieran Dodds
