The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources over the weekend commenced what it has christened the “Green Streets Project” with the planting of ornamental seedlings along some road medians of the capital, Accra.
The exercise, which had support from the Forestry Commission and some selected workers of the Youth in Afforestation, planted Tabebuia pallida (Trumpet Tree) from Spanner junction, Tetteh Quarshie, through the Shiashi-Okponglo stretch to Legon.
The team irrigated the seedlings, together with other ornamental trees already planted along the shoulders of the road, and uprooted weeds that covered the ground.
The project, according to the ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, intends to grow some types of trees to improve the aesthetics of cities and towns. The planting exercise will be expanded to three other cities, namely Kumasi, Tamale and Sekondi-Takoradi.
The Chronicle commends the initiators and executors of this laudable project, owing to the undeniable benefits of trees to the environment.
We see the project as one that will reinforce the afforestation drive of the nation, especially as the ministry intends to move to other cities in the country to plant trees.
These cities would soon get to the level of Johannesburg, Pretoria and Kigali among other African cities with beautiful tree-lined streets.
The health and economic benefits of trees cannot be overemphasised, giving meaning to the saying that when the last tree dies, the last man dies.
The development comes to us as very refreshing, particularly under a government that is investing hugely in tourism in recent years. Through the internationally acclaimed year of return and other initiatives by the government, Ghana has seen a huge number of tourists come into the country.
It will be a very good sight to have flourishing trees lined up along the streets of the major cities in the country, as these revelers visit. So, we say kudos to the ministry and its partners for the Green Street Project and even Green Ghana Day as well.
However, we have also observed that this is not the first time trees have been planted on that particularly stretch of Accra.
Ahead of the commemoration of the June 4th revolution anniversary in 2019, the late Jerry John Rawlings led his party and the waste management company, Zoomlion, to plant trees on those lanes.
According to a Graphic Online report, “over three hundred trees were planted along the Shiashi-Legon road and more are to be added across the city of Accra.”
Three years down the line, trees are being planted at these same places. So we ask, what happened to those that were planted three years ago?
We are concerned about the state of the old trees, given that the resources that were spent three years ago on planting may not produce the expected results. Today, new resources have been committed to planting new ones.
Yes, it is important to grow trees to improve the aesthetics of cities and towns but it is extremely necessary to look into nurturing these plants to grow.
It would be a waste of precious time, energy and other resources to plant trees without monitoring, unless as authorities in charge, the focus is to have the media around to publicise the planting and then we go to sleep.
We are happy that Parks and Gardens were part of last weekend’s exercise. They know better and we are only hoping that they will have their eyes on the trees planted, to nurture them to grow beautifully to make the city look good.
