THE Centre for Water and Environment Development (CWED) has distributed varieties of ornamental trees to 10 schools in Kaduna State to encourage tree planting among students.

Mrs Doris Shanni, CWED’s Programme Manager, said this in Kaduna on Wednesday while presenting the tree seedlings to the schools at the premises of the NGO.

Shanni stated that the activity was aimed at encouraging tree planting in view of its enormous advantages to humans and the environment.

She said eight secondary schools and two primary schools were invited for the collection of the trees.

The programme manager, however, said only few schools honoured the invitation and expressed optimism that the remaining schools would be given the opportunity to collect their seedlings.

According to her, schools invited were LEA primary school Karji, Government Junior Girls Secondary School Barnawa, Government Secondary School Doka, Government Secondary School, Ungwar Sarki, LEA Primary School, Narayi among others.

Shanni urged schools that collected their seedlings to build a mini orchard to nurture their seedlings.

She emphasised the need for schools to encourage their pupils and students to plant trees within their premises.

The ornamental trees presented to the schools were yellow bush, masquerade and satellite trees.

Earlier, Dr Amanayi Ezra, the Acting Provost, Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, spoke on the importance of tree planting.

He stressed that trees play very vital roles to preserving and replenishing the earth, stressing that benefits of tree planting cut across social, communal, environmental and economic factors.

Ezra said some of the benefits include, visual appeal, good air quality, health and wellbeing, as well as cost saving and helping to manage storm water, property values, cooling effects and reduction of adverse wind speed effects.

Other benefits, he stated, included combating climate change, provision of oxygen, cleaning the air, conservation of energy, prevention of pollution, providing food, healing, canopy and habitat for wild life among others.(NAN)

Aug. 01, 2018 @ 17:35 GMT |

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