Perpetua Murungweni
In in bid to promote afforestation and environmental conservation, Hillside Primary School joined the nation of Zimbabwe on commemorations of the National Planting Day on Thursday 30 November.
This year’s commemorations is running under the theme ‘trees and forests for ecosystem restoration and improved livelihoods.
Speaking at the event Education Inspector Portia Chomupwanya said the event was the first in the district and it aims at regreening the environment through planting.
“We are here to launch the 2023 National Tree Planting Day in our district, by this we are aiming at regreening our environment through planting. This day has made a significant contribution in increasing the country’s forest. Over the years, millions of trees have been planted, helping to restore degraded lands, improve air quality, and enhance biodiversity.
“Today is an important day because trees play a vital role in the country’s ecosystem, providing oxygen, preventing soil erosion, regulating water flow, and supporting biodiversity,” said Chomupwanya.
She said there was need for such a day in the country because some of the trees were long forgotten and most kids do not know about those threes.
“Statistics show that deforestation rate is now at 280 000 hectares per annum and with this rate it is important to plant back trees because it helps restore other type of trees that were lost in deforestation and now difficult to find like the Acacia tree that we are planting today, most of our kids don’t even know it. I urge all communities to conserve and protect our indigenous trees,” said Chomupwanya.
Speaking at the same event, Masvingo City Council Mayor Alec Tabe said it was important to conserve and protect the environment from deforestation through planting trees twice the number of those cut down.
“It is important to conserve our environment from deforestation through planting trees and we need to plant twice the number of those we cut down. To support this initiative, as council, we have donated 50 trees to every school here in Masvingo town and we are going to monitor if these trees are planted and maintained,” said Tabe.
The school head Brian Gomba said the day was important and serves as a constant reminder on the importance of trees.
“We are gathered here to commemorate National Tree Planting Day because this day is constant reminder of why trees are important, long back we did not know why trees were important and we would use trees for art and craft while cutting down trees without replacing them.
“Because these kind of activities destroyed trees and today some of the trees no longer exist. This day is very important because it now encourages people to replace trees they cut down through planting twice the number of those cut down,” said Gomba.
He also expressed gratitude to various stakeholders who were present and those who supported the event for it to be a success.
“I am very happy with the support we received from various stakeholders who commemorated the day with us. The day was very fruitful because we learned a lot about planting and the importance of tree,” said Gomba.
The day was graced by different stakeholders such as Masvingo City Council, Environmental Management Agency (EMA), Forestry Commission, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MOPSE) and community members.
On Zimbabwe National Tree Planting Day, various organizations, communities, and individuals come together to plant trees in different locations across the country. Schools, government institutions, private companies, and environmental groups often organize tree planting events.
