By Umm Hameeda
Kano
A Kano based non-governmental organisation, Panacea Foundation, has said that it will plant 100,000 trees in Kano schools and communities in 2022.
The Founder of the organisation, Mr Dahir Hashim, stated this in an interview with newsmen on Sunday in Kano.
The project, he said, aimed at planting seedlings in selected strategic locations to curb out the menace of heat zones in Kano.
“We will place emphasis to planting in schools so that students will get the opportunity to acquaint themselves with tree planting and maintenance exercise.”
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He said that the aim of the organisation’s tree planting project, is to influence massive re-greening of Kano city.
He said, “In 2021, we have planted more than 10,000 trees across various schools and communities within Kano city and some local governments.”
“During this period, we have organized sensitization campaigns to raise environmental awareness amongst school children, communities and public offices.”
He added that the organisation had also trained community based organizations on taking care of the trees, and how to source for local manure for the trees.
The organisation he explained, has volunteers who serve as focal persons in each of the local governments across the state.
“We are doing all these to ensure that the trees we planted are well taken care of and that they all grow to benefit the communities.”
Mr Hashim however, stressed the importance of the project, saying that it will improve the over all ecosystem in Kano.
He then appealed for public support in ensuring a greener Kano, in order to safeguard the city against climate change.
“Kano is vulnerable to climate change, progressive decline of biodiversity and ecosystem services, disappearing open and green space, as well as collapse of the institutions that upheld these services in the first place.”
The city he said, has featured in the old maps of Africa, during pre-colonial and colonial times and European explorers were fascinated by the existing high level resilience that the dryland city exhibited through its unique garden city features, wetlands, and agricultural lands, green and open space.
Hashim further maintained that the situation has changed as a result of change in urban land governance and burgeoning population expansion.
The project according to him, aim at achieving food security through planting of edible tree species, for food and medicinal benefits.
He thus appealed for support from other bodies and the government in massive tree planting to rescue the ecosystem in the state.
