Activists embark on tree planting campaign in schools to preserve environment

Iganga, (UG):- Activists under the Busoga Development Agency (BUDA) have asked people in Busoga to embrace tree planting in preserving the environment as an approach to countering the environmental challenges affecting the sub-region. The campaign is expected to cover a number of schools in the area.

BUDA is a community agency which was established to promote environmental conservation in Busoga sub-region by planting a variety of trees and raising awareness in communities about challenges in environmental protection and further drawing lines of solutions to such challenges.

As the country commemorated the World Environment Day for this year in Sironko district, BUDA spent the whole of Wednesday planting trees and sensitizing people on the importance of preserving the environment, while partnering with some companies in the area.

The Executive Director of Busoga Development Agency Mr. Bulagala Mawazi said they partnered with Tembo Steel Rolling Company and planted at least 5,000 trees both within the factory and in the community and they target moving to schools with tree planting campaigns.

“We have planted about 5,000 fruit trees at the Tembo factory and in the community and we soon plan as BUDA to plant trees in Iganga schools and the whole of Busoga as we have been doing it. We are doing this purposely to preserve the environment and also commemorate this day,” Bulagala said on Wednesday.

Bulagala said they work with the environment ministry, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), National Forestry Authority (NFA) and other companies in environmental preservation, adding that they will resume their campaign of giving out tree seedlings to the people.

As a way of commemorating the day which is considered every year on June 5, Mr. Bulagala tasked people to plant trees and avoid the diverse effects resulting from destroying the environment.

“I call upon people in Busoga, Uganda and the World as a whole to plant a tree or more than one as we commemorate this day, you can even plant like ten trees. Let us preserve the environment because you can now see floods and other disasters befalling Uganda, so we should not let such disasters befall Busoga,” he said.

According to internet sources, in 1972, the UN General Assembly designated June 5 as World Environment Day (WED), with the first celebration in 1973 under the theme “Only One Earth.” And over the years, WED has become a platform to raise awareness about environmental issues.

This year’s World Environment Day was commemorated on the theme; “Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience,” and the Ugandan theme was “Land Restoration for Climate Resilience,”