Africa
Ghana plants 5 million trees in one day
The government plans to make Green Ghana Day an annual event, with the target expanded to 100 million by 2024
Ghana aimed to plant at least five million trees in a single day on June 12, 2021, to help regrow the country’s lost forests and curb the impacts of climate change. People from all walks of life, including celebrities, officials, parliamentarians, traditional leaders and schoolchildren, took part in the ‘Green Ghana’ programme.
More than 7 million seedlings were distributed to Ghanaian parks, schools and businesses ahead of the day's events, according to the lands ministry. Planting kits were handed out at shopping malls in major cities. Participants chose from a selection of fruit, crop and ornamental trees.
At Jubilee House, the seat of Ghana's presidency, President Nana Akufo-Addo planted a seedling of lignum vitae, one of the world's strongest hardwoods. The species is locally referred to as the "Tree of Life" for its medicinal qualities.
The government plans for Green Ghana Day to become an annual event, with an ambitious goal of expanding the day's planting target from five million to 100 million trees by 2024.