SASSCAL Undertakes a Tree Planting and Cleanup Awareness Campaign
Dr Jane Olwoch and learners from Cimbebasia Primary School taking part in the tree planting exercise
As part of its 10th anniversary commemoration, the Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptative Land Management (SASSCAL), undertook a tree planting and clean up campaign across its member states on 6 April, 2022.
The exercise is amongst a number of events lined up to celebrate 10 years of various programmes and projects aimed at combating climate change. Namibia’s tree planting and clean up exercise took place at Cimbebasia Primary School in Windhoek, Namibia, where SASSCAL staff were joined by learners from the school’s Environment Club.
Speaking during the event, SASSCAL Executive Director, Dr Jane Olwoch said trees are lungs of the earth and their absence means no lungs for biodiversity, which is the basis for human well-being.
The organization decided to commemorate its 10th anniversary with various schools across four of its member states because SASSCAL respects the aspirations of young people and that the future depends on what they are doing. The easiest way to reduce carbon emissions, which is responsible for climate change, is by planting more trees.
Dr Olwoch encouraged the learners to make it a habit to continuously plant as many trees as possible. She promised to make the primary school a partner through SASSCAL’s newly established corporate social responsibility programme, a move that will provide an opportunity to steer pupils towards engaging in continuous environmentally sustainable projects.
SASSCAL staff joined by Cimbebasia Primary School principal, teachers, and members of the school’s Environment Club during the tree planting and clean up campaign
The Executive Director also provided an overview of SASSCAL and one of its strategic programmes namely the Green Hydrogen, saying that the whole world is moving towards renewable energy to curb carbon emissions and as a response to climate change.
Like Zambia and Angolan Nodes, SASSCAL Botswana Node executed a tree planting and clean-up campaign at Batlokwa National School, on the outskirts of Gaborone. Indigenous and fruit trees, which are suited to the local climate, soil, bird, and insect life were planted. SASSCAL staff, high level Government officials, staff members of schools and students, attended the Botswana event.
The SASSCAL Angolan node planted about 85 trees at the secondary schools Comandante Vilinga in Huambo.
SASSCAL Angolan Note tree planting event and cleanup exercise
Meanwhile, plans are afoot to officially celebrate the international organisation’s 10th Anniversary in Windhoek on 12th April, 2022. High Level Namibian Government officials, senior officials from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and German International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change (ICWRGC), SASSCAL Board Members and staff are expected to attend the auspicious occasion.
