Madam Grace Horve, an Environmentalist from the Forestry Commission, Kwahu South District, Mpraeso, has urged beneficiaries of the Green Ghana Day (GGD) tree seedlings to nurture them to grow to serve the envisioned purpose.

The excitement most Ghanaians exhibited towards Green Ghana Day is a proof that the initiative’s goal of imparting the culture of tree planting and sound environmental practices to the people is being achieved, she applauded, adding that trees give a breath of life and play a significant role in slowing down global warming, depleting the ozone level, and many others.

Speaking to the Vaultz News, Madam Horve said the tree planting exercise is still ongoing in the various forest commission ministries but at a slower pace because of the rains. However, she added that the ministries would continue to plant the trees until they are exhausted.

“Greening Ghana is a future and long-lasting event. It should not end at just the tree planting stage. Hence beneficiaries of the green Ghana day seedlings should continue to watch over trees planted until they grow because most of Ghana’s forests are degraded. Trees help in so many ways. It helps in the formation of rain. The leaves of trees, when they fall, help to enrich the soil. Therefore, I urge all and sundry who took tree seedlings from the various ministries to do well and monitor them so that they can grow to serve the purpose they were planted.”
Madam Grace Horve

GGD should not end with tree planting

Adding to the discussion, Mr. Baba Musa Iddrisu, the Lawra District Manager of the Forestry Commission, called on Ghanaians to look yonder at the excitement of planting the trees and instead focus on cultivating them to grow.

Tree planting 1 — Sample of distributed tree seedlings

Mr. Iddrisu, in an interview, advised that the exercise should not end with the distribution and planting of the trees but should be followed with the culture of nurturing and growing those trees.

He revealed that the Lawra Forest District exceeded its target of planting 200,000 tree seedlings to 344 446 seedlings, out of which about 160,000 were distributed among the various District Assemblies within the Forest District.

“About 150,000 seedlings have been planted in the forest reserves on 134-hectare land while about 36,000 seedlings, distributed to institutions including schools and Non-Governmental Organizations within the forest district plant. Apart from the GGD tree planting exercise, my outfit is also implementing other tree-planting projects, including the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Project, where they are engaging individuals to establish woodlots.”
Mr. Baba Musa Iddrisu

Mr. Iddrisu intimated that the commission has put in place measures, including regular patrols and construction of fire belts around the reserves and effective weed control to help ensure the trees planted survive.

“People always cause these fires, so we carry out sensitization and awareness creation within all the communities fringing the forest reserves. We educate the public on the dangers and negative effects of wildfires”.
Mr. Baba Musa Iddrisu