Chronicle Editor
Lumbidzani Dima, Chronicle Reporter
SCHOOLS in Bulawayo have been urged to develop a culture of planting trees as they play a crucial role in mitigating the impact of climate change and greening their surroundings.
Zimbabwe set aside the first Saturday of every December as National Tree Planting Day to motivate the nation to plant and conserve trees, enlighten the nation on the importance of forests and to reduce the impact of climate change.
This year’s national tree planting is running under the theme: “Trees and Forests for Ecosystem Restoration and Improved Livelihoods”.
The chosen tree of the year is the Monkey bread tree (Ihabahaba/Musekesa/Piliostigma thonningii).
The monkey bread is a deciduous single-stemmed tree with a rounded crown which reaches four to 15 metres in height at maturity.
Its bark is rough and longitudinally fissured.
According to statistics, the country is said to be losing about 262 000 hectares of trees per year.
Bulawayo Mayor Councillor Solomon Mguni, in a speech read on his behalf by Ward 22 Councillor Rodney Jele, at the belated National Tree Planting Day celebrations held at Queen Elizabeth Primary School yesterday, challenged all schools in Bulawayo to develop a culture of planting trees continuously.
“All schools are advised to develop a culture of owning trees. They should make an effort to plant trees every year,” said Clr Mguni.
He said planting a tree is very important to everyone as there are a lot of benefits derived from trees in the environment.
“There’s a need to re-green our environment by planting more trees.
Trees not only beautify landscapes in cities, but they also play a critical role in climate change mitigation by absorbing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide that are emitted in the industrial areas.”
Clr Mguni said it should not be just about planting trees, but nurturing them and making sure they survive because “if you save a tree, you save a life and if you plant a tree, you plant life”.
Bulawayo forestry extension officer Ms Nokuthaba Nyathi said every year, the forestry commission chooses one indigenous tree which is of economic and social value or about to become extinct to be the tree of the year.
“Ihabahaba tree has some important ecological and economic values. Its bark is used to make dye, the fruit is nutritious and the tree has a deep root system which helps prevent soil erosion and improve soil fertility as it is a nitrogen fixator.
“It’s an important agro-forestry species meaning it can be inter-cropped among other crops without competing with them, instead it helps in restoring soil fertility,” said Ms Nyathi.
Bulawayo conservation education officer, Mr Thulani Magagula said schools should be free to approach council and the Forestry Commission for free trees.
He said the Covid-19 pandemic has made schools not prioritise tree planting as they are only concerned with finishing the syllabus.
Mr Magagula challenged school heads to take an active part on tree planting as it plays a role in environmental management.
“Some school heads are not active enough in terms of conservation of trees. After planting trees in certain schools, they don’t even last a month and they give an excuse of water challenges,” he said.
He hailed Emganwini Primary School for being one of the few schools in the city that has a culture of planting trees, nurturing them and making sure they survive.
The headmaster of Queen Elizabeth Primary School, Mr Marko Hleza vowed to be one of the best schools in environmental management, starting with making sure that the monkey bread and other trees planted at the school yesterday will survive.
Online Reporter