Ms Mary Kubualor, Tema Metro Horticulture Officer said that 60 percent of seedlings planted during the 2021 tree planting exercise within the Tema Metropolis have survived.
Ms Kubualor, during an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema indicated that about 5,000 seedlings were shared for planting during the exercise to mark the Green Ghana initiative in Tema.
Adding that, 1,252 seedlings were planted within the locality at Tema East and Tema Central whilst 3,800 seedlings were planted outside the locality.
She attested how the survival rate of seedlings planted was high and explained how some seedlings in the month of May this year have been replanted due to some factors like climate change, overgrazing, bush burning, and reckless packing of trucks by drivers which destroys plants.
She explained that to ensure that seedlings germinated well, workers in the department undertook routine maintenance activities like watering, mulching, stirring, application of manure, and circular weeding to improve the soil’s health.
‘When we plant seeds at various places, we don’t leave them, we go around to inspect how the plants are surviving. We also have a weekly, monthly, and yearly assessment and evaluation on the state of the plants’ she said.
Ms Kubualor said that according to the bye-law enacted to promote a green environment, a fine of GHS5,000.00 would slap persons without permits for the felling of trees.
She encouraged individuals to prioritize tree planting in and around their homes as it regulated the air quality temperature.
Mr Frank Asante, Public Relations Officer for Tema Metropolitan Assembly, added that to ensure the approved plan for land use within the metropolis, the Physical department manages activities with the Horticulture Department to promote the cultivation and conservation of medicinal and aromatic plant species in the metropolis.
‘The physical planning department also sets out approved plans for the planting of trees and directs on which areas of land within the metropolis are inappropriate to plant trees,’ he said.
Source: Ghana News Agency