Rotary Club canvasses tree planting to save environment

The President, Rotary Club of Opebi, Tunde Salami, has called on Nigerians to join members of the club in tree planting within communities as a means of adapting communities and ecosystems to be more resilient to impacts of climate change.

He noted that with incidences of flooding rife across the country, among other natural disaster outbreaks occasioned by climate change, it had become imperative to join forces in building societies with long-term climate resilience.

Salami, a lawyer, made the call when he led members of his club on a tree planting and basic education/literacy exercise to Mayor Heights College, Ikeja, Lagos. The members planted 10 trees within the school premises, among other trees planted across the city.

According to Salami, the exercise was carried out to save and protect immediate communities. “When I became President, I committed to adhering to all the core themes of Rotary. Tree planting is one of the core things that protect human lives by helping to keep the air we breathe clean.

“Trees make communities and ecosystems more resilient to climate change. Not only do they pull carbon out of the atmosphere, they help communities and ecosystems adapt to extreme weather events. As carbon sinks, trees help cool the earth by removing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it within their roots, stems, and leaves,” he said.

On her part, Assistant Governor, District 9110, Ezinne Obioha, who superintends over Rotary Club of Opebi, said that tree planting is a way of protecting the environment. She noted that when the trees grow over time, they protect the species, provide shade and most importantly, help control global warming.”

Rotarian Obioha said: “Trees also build long-term climate resilience by helping regulate the water cycle, reducing soil erosion and the risk of landslides, floods, and drought, while also purifying the air and providing habitats that house biodiversity and maintain genetic diversity of species.” 

In a country where tree felling still occurs with perpetrators often unpunished, Obioha enjoined other citizens to join forces with Rotary in contributing acts of kindness to the society and making the world better.

As part of the basic education and literacy initiative, Rotarian Chioma Njoku led students of the College in reading some books and shared tips to help inculcate the reading habit in the pupils. Thereafter, donations of exercise books and other stationery were made to the students by the club.

Speaking on the essence of the exercise, Executive Director, Mayor Heights College, Mrs. Olatokunbo Ogunjobi said the twin events of tree planting and literacy programme were laudable, especially in spite of the busy schedule of Rotary members. “These book donations would encourage the students to inculcate reading as an habit. It would also impact reasonably on the lives of the students and by extension, the society,” she noted.