By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah
Tema, June 6, GNA – The Tema Metro Office of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has commemorated 2024 World Environment Day with tree planting activities in senior high schools in the Tema Metropolis.
Officers of the NCCE, together with civic education club members and patrons, participated in the schools, which included Tema Presbyterian SHS, Tema Methodist Day SHS, Tema Industrial Mission, Chemu SHS, and Manhean Secondary Technical SHS.
World Environmental Day is celebrated worldwide on June 5 annually, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), to create awareness of the environment and enhance political attention and action.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience.”
Ms Gifty Agyeiwaa Badu, the NCCE Tema Metro Director, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the tree planting exercise was supported by the Horticultural Department, Tema Metro, and aimed at raising awareness and educating the younger generation on emerging environmental issues and stimulating actions on critical emerging environmental challenges.
Ms Badu added that sour-sap fruit, apples, citrus, and many other fruit trees were planted in the various schools.
She charged the students to spearhead the fight against environmental degradation, adding that the plants, which were a civic project for the clubs, will be nurtured and monitored by members with supervision from the executives and the patrons to ensure their survival.
She said tree planting was one of the measures to tackle the devastating climatic change that had become a global threat, giving the assurance that the NCCE was ready to support all policies geared towards restoring the environment to its natural state.
The students thanked the NCCE Director for the practical knowledge they had acquired and appealed for such programmes at regular intervals to help curb climate challenges in the country.
Master Freeman Hammond and Master Adu Gyamfi, form three students and civic club members of Tema Presbyterian SHS, said the trees, when grown, would provide fruits for them and serve as a source of food for the students as well as beautify the school environment.
Rev Eric Sakyi Ofori, the patron of the civic club and tutor at Tema Presec, said the exercise allowed them to engage the students on what the environment is and its benefits to humans.
Rev Ofori, who is also a minister at the Full Gospel Church in Tema Newtown, reminded them that trees were very important to the survival of humans on earth, adding that, trees also served as windbreaks for structures.
GNA