Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology KNUST, Professor Rita Akosua Dickson shoveling soil onto a plant.

Green Ghana Project: KNUST plants 2,000 trees

Graphic.com.gh Education Jun - 12 - 2021 , 17:38

Two thousand trees have been planted on the campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) as part of the Green Ghana Project.

The tree planting exercise dubbed “One student, one tree” was led by the Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology KNUST, Professor Rita Akosua Dickson.

Different species of trees were planted at the Prince of Whales Park, the Unity Hall and its environs, Bomso gate and its environs, the new Social Science building, the Business School, Faculty of Law, the old cemetery and the SRC Hostel.

The exercise was also supported by the Friends of Rivers and Water Bodies who donated 1,000 seedlings and the office of the Member of Parliament for Oforikrom.

“It’s a collective responsibility. Let’s put our energies and our strengths together to ensure planting of trees becomes our normal way of life,” Prof Dickson said.

The Forestry Resources Technology Students, Head of State Award Scheme Secretariat and the Environmental Leadership Forum both donated 100 seedlings each while the KNUST SRC and GRASAG also donated 150 seedlings each.

The Vice President of Forestry Resources Technology Students, Fiona Neena said: “We’ve seen the number of trees in the country are reducing. We want to plant more trees to replace them,” she said.

Background

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced the Green Ghana Project in the 2021 State of the Nation Address in March to mobilise Ghanaians for an aggressive nationwide tree planting exercise.

Subsequently, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, on March 23, this year, launched the greening project as part of activities to mark this year’s International Day of Forests, which fell on March 21.

The ministry plans to institute June 11 each year as a tree-planting day.

As part of the project, more than five million tree seedlings of different species are to be planted and nurtured to maturity as an aggressive measure to preserve the country’s forest cover and the environment and roll back climate change and its debilitating impact.