The Department of the Environment has launched its “Plant a Tree Campaign” during this month, November, as part of the annual Arbor Month celebrations.
Senior Environment Officer Daryl George says the focus, this year, will be mainly on schools. George says trees and plants play an important role in a country’s eco-system and therefore we need to preserve them as much as possible.
George says the reason that schools will be targeted this year for the campaign is to get young people more involved in the planting of trees and knowing their importance for living.
He explains that an initiative launched earlier this year provided schools with grant funding to set up their own nurseries; but the COVID-19 pandemic created a hitch to that venture.
George says the number of trees anticipated from 15 schools was not attainable, due to the lockdown and resultant online learning platform.
The Department is now reassessing the number of plants it will be able to get from each school, and what they will be able to give throughout the month.
According to him, the Department of the Environment is hoping to be able to plant between 10,000 and 15,000 trees during November.
