ESMA Plants 2000 Tree Seedlings on Green Ghana Day

As part of the Green Ghana Day campaign, the Government of Ghana provided free seedlings to all individuals, government and non-governmental organisations, traditional leaders, educational and religious institutions willing to roll up their sleeves and help out. The event was also supported by the GrEEn Project.

Green Ghana Day on Friday 11 June saw communities come together for a massive drive to plant over 5 million trees nationwide.

The team from UNCDF – together with its partners SNV and SOS – led a tree planting exercise in the Ejura Sekyedumase Municipal in the Ashanti Region to plant a total of 2,000 tree seedlings.

The exercise was supported by a total of 70 people comprising of local, political and traditional leaders including the Ejura Divisional Council, the Forestry Commission of Ghana as well as the residents of the community.

UNCDF is currently implementing the GrEEn Project, a four-year action funded by the European Union (EU) in the Ashanti and Western Regions, that seeks to create opportunities for vulnerable groups by prioritizing green and resilience-building actions.

The tree seedlings were planted throughout the Ejura township as well as at the banks of two waterbodies, the Asasebon and Humako streams, in order to protect the water sources from direct sunlight and encroachment.

Speaking about the tree planting exercise, the UNCDF Programme Management Specialist, Enea Stocco, said that UNCDF through the GrEEn project is committed to helping local communities deal with the effects of climate change and to take necessary actions to reverse environmental destruction.

UNCDF Technical Specialist in Local Government Finance, Angela Kwashie, added that UNCDF collaborated with the traditional leaders and the local community in order to drive community ownership of the tree planting exercise. She said UNCDF through the GrEEn Project is committed to supporting similar initiatives in the future.

The Hon. MCE, Salisu Bamba, who took a keen interest in the project participated fully as well as his staff at the Municipal Assembly. In his address to the gathering, he hinted on the importance of the project to the municipality and the country as  whole as it goes in a long way to address the recent global climate issues being faced.