The Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL) celebrated World Environment Day with the theme #OnlyOneEarth together with School Nature Clubs in the Western Area. The celebrations were accompanied by tree planting activities and environmental education about the importance of trees and the services they provide for human beings.
In Freetown the preparations had been going on for a while. We are very happy that our efforts already showed first success. In the last week (31st) of May CSSL engaged the contact teachers of the School Nature Clubs in the Western Area Rural and Urban in a meeting. During this meeting they received information about the seedlings(trees) and their importance which CSSL is going to provide for their school tree planting. The invited board members of CSSL shared their experience and knowledge and emphasised how important it is to educate children and connect them to nature.
The following days were very busy for the CSSL team as we had to buy and deliver about 800 seedlings and tree planting tools for the SNC. The principals, teachers and students were very happy to receive the little trees as they will provide shade, fruits and in some cases they will work as a barrier to the strong winds from the ocean. CSSL staff members were shown the places where the seedlings are going to be planted. We explained to teachers and principals that it is not only about tree planting but also about monitoring them and caring for them so that the small trees will be able to grow big and healthy.
On 2nd of June, the first seedlings were planted at the Sierra Leone Grammer School compound in Freetown. We are very happy to see that teachers and students are involved in this activity and the information about the trees are distributed and shared with the children. We are looking forward to keep you up-to-date on the development of the young trees. We hope we can show some photos of them next year again to show how well they are cared for.
On the 6th of June, all 13 Schools were engaged in tree planting in their various schools. Both the Junior and Secondary Principals of almost all schools fully participated in the planting exercise. CSSL is very happy to have seen principals very happy to addressed their teachers and pupils about the importance of the trees and been the first people to plant.
We only have one earth. There is no planet b. We know that these tree planting activities will only be a small contribution to save our climate but if all of us work together, we can reach the global goal to mitigate climate change consequences and we can save our earth as we know it.
