Youth in tree planting drive
School representatives and members of incredible Youth international with some seedlings. PHOTO BY SHABIBA NAKIRIGYA
What you need to know:
The youth have been urged to be more involved in educating the public about conserving the environment and adapting to climate change.
The youth have been urged to be more involved in educating the public about conserving the environment and adapting to climate change.
This call was made by Sara Vauclair, Incredible Youth International’s president for France, at the launch of an environmental conservation campaign targeting schools in Mukono District.
Essential measure
Vauclair pointed out that it is everyone’s responsibility to conserve the environment. That an essential measure for consideration is the prevention of deforestation, which contributes climate change.
“Plant a tree; trees are one of the planet’s natural cleaners. They take in carbon dioxide and send out life-giving oxygen,” she said. “They also protect watersheds by binding the soil so it does not wash into water sources. The more trees we plant, the better our environment will be.”
Raise awareness
Vauclair encouraged the youngsters to learn as much as possible about things like renewable energy, in light of dwindling fossil fuel resources, and start recycling plastic bottles.
“Talk to your parents or school board about the possibility of switching to cleaner, greener forms of energy such as solar,” she advised.
As part of its thrust to heighten public awareness about environmental conservation, the Incredible Youth International organisation started the campaign to focus on the role of the youth in conserving the environment,
They aim at encouraging the young to get involved in the sensitisation campaign, adaptation measures and practices.
The campaign has involved students from 100 primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. Each of whom were given 100 tree seedlings as part of the effort to boost re-afforestation in the country.
Become ambassadors
Brain Ntwatwa, the founder of Incredible Youth International in Uganda, noted that the initiative is an indication to the environmental experts to engage young people on climate change issues.
“We want to make sure that these schools become ambassadors to other schools, which are not part of this campaign,” Ntwatwa said.
