To ensure the sustainability of the government’s flagship programme to Green Ghana, the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) has adopted its Basic School as the gateway to greening schools in the Bono Region. As part of the initiative, the Students when celebrating their birthdays will be supported by their parents to plant trees, especially during the rainy season to inculcate in them the culture of planting and protecting trees as young people. The Students will also nurture the plant with the help of their teachers to safeguard its growth.
Speaking at this year’s Bono Regional Green Ghana Commemoration Day, hosted at the School’s premises on Friday, June 10, 2022, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Elvis Asare-Bediako explained that the protection of natural resources is one of UENR’s mandates and the University attaches great interest to raise graduates to be stewards of Ghana’s natural resources. This he said cannot be achieved without commencing with the young people in the University. “when young people grasp the philosophy behind why grownups are gathered today and planting trees, our trees will be in good hands in the future. And our children’s children will benefit from the legacy we have left of taking care of the environment”, the Vice-Chancellor projected. He was hopeful that the UENR Basic School would become the model school in the region with the Green Schools Initiative.
Gracing the tree planting exercise, which was jointly hosted by UENR and the Sunyani Technical University, the Bono Regional Minister, Hon. Justina Owusu-Banahene mentioned that the government is putting in efforts to ensure the strategic sustenance of Ghana’s natural resources. She appreciated the patronage of the tree planting exercise by the people of the Bono Region and called on them to consider the planting of medicinal, food, energy and timber species for societal needs. She also urged the teachers at the UENR Basic School to train the pupils to know the importance of trees in daily lives adding that, “Let them know that the furniture they sit on is made from trees, the books and some of the dresses they wear are made from trees. By doing so they will appreciate what we are doing today.”
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Mobilizing for a Greener Future” with the target number of seedlings to be planted nationwide scaling up to 20 million of which the Bono Region is expected to plant 1.2 million trees and UENR to plant 5,000 trees. Not relenting to the heavy downpour, the Regional Minister led the tree planting exercise at both the STU and the UENR campuses respectively whiles some Lecturers at the Forest Science Department of the University also commemorated the day to plant seedlings with students of the Odumaseman Senior High, Notre Dame SHS and Sunyani Senior High in the Bono Region.
Also in attendance were the Vice-Chancellor, Ing. Prof. Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah and other Management of STU, Pupils of the Basic School, staff of UENR, the Director of Operations at the Ghana Forestry Commission, Dr. Ebenezer Djagbeletey as well as some Heads of other Civil Society Organizations.
