Eco Restore has launched its 2024 tree growing season at Kparigu, a community in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region.
The launch involved the Chief and key stakeholders of the community, who planted indigenous trees as a symbol of accepting to begin growing trees in the area.
It was in commemoration of the Green Ghana Day as Eco Restore endeavoured to meet its target of planting one million indigenous trees in the Savannah Ecological Zone.
It also formed part of the activities under Green Climate Fund (GCF) funded Ghana Shea Landscape Emission Reductions Project (GSLERP) implemented by the Forestry Commission (FC) and the Global Shea Alliance (GSA).
On the tree planting occasion, the Chief, students and people of Kparigu planted 450 pieces of three indigenous trees- shea, Faidherbia and Kapok.
Dr Zakaria Issahaku, Director of Eco Restore, speaking during the tree planting launch, said the organisation was poised to plant over 110,000 seedlings this year and encouraged members of the community to take advantage of the initiative to restore the shea parklands of North East Region.
He stated that Eco Restore and its private sector partner, Bunge, collaborated with communities and patrons to restore millions of hectares of farmed parklands, riparian forests and other woodlands under the GLSERP.
Dr Peter Lovett, Co-Director of Eco Restore, assured farmers of continuous engagement and sensitisation on care of planted seedlings as well as offering recommendations on how to maintain healthy parklands.
He said engagements would cover strategies on protecting remaining indigenous trees, ways to avoid synthetic pesticides and exotic invasive species like neem, as well as the practice of regenerative farming around growing trees.
Kpaanaa Sugri Mahami, Chief of Kparigu, lauded Eco Restore for its quest to restore indigenous trees, describing the effort as worth emulating.
He expressed confidence that community members would abide by by-laws regarding protecting economic trees.
