ARUSHA MAYOR CHAMPIONS A YOUTH TREE PLANTING CAMPAIGN

ARUSHA MAYOR CHAMPIONS A YOUTH TREE PLANTING CAMPAIGN

The Mayor of Arusha municipality; honorable Gaudence Lymo has commanded  JR-Institute of information Technology of Arusha by its efforts to inspire young people to take compassionate actions to wards conserving the environments in Arusha. Championing a special inauguration of youth`s tree planting campaigns in Arusha Hon. Lymo called upon volunteer spirits among the young people in  Arusha through these types of service learning and community support. He asked them to support communities by educating them through voluntary services such as tree planting, waste managements, flowerings and vegetable gardening in groups in order for the municipal to support them. He said the municipal has funding, to support self initiated projects, and youths are the prime target, so by volunteering, youths of Arusha can become self employed so they become the main workforce to the national. The activity was organized on Friday 13<sup>th</sup>, April, 2012; by Jane Goodall`s Roots & Shoots Arusha, a world wide environmental and humanitarian education club for youth in primary, secondary and college students, where 23 JR-College students, members of this Jane Goodall Voluntary club participate to recover pristine vegetation in one of the Arusha`s watershed areas.

Speaking at the event, Jane Goodall`s Roots & Shoots Coordinator; Mr. Japhet Jonas said his office, in collaboration with JR-Institute have joined the government`s efforts to promote tree planting in Tanzania. He said, the government has declared 1^st, April each year as a tree planting day, where people at different cadres from families, communities, departments, local to national level are inspired to carry out tree planting by means of boundary planting, creating natural regenerations, tree nursery establishments, forest plantations etc.

He said Tanzania has about 34million hectares of forests; but the rate of 400,000hecters being slashed each years can not be left to the government alone because the impact affects everyone. He said today Arusha is facing a serious problem of draught, especially in areas such simanjiro, monduli and other places, yet there are prolonged tones of charcoals coming to Arusha each day. No body is thinking of where are these Charcoal tones coming from, who is causing this and who is using these charcoal and whether there is a balance between the trees being cut and those being planted. During rain seasons, the lower places in the city are usually prune to floods. All these are environmental calamities demanding the tree planting as a sole solution.  He said his Institute inspires young people to understand that trees are the main solutions for environmental change by providing medicines, flowers, timbers, fuel wood, shade, fruits, fodder, and rains and are potential for soil conservation and water catchments. “Once these young naturalists understand, they will be inspired to establish tree nurseries, carry out voluntary planting and promote silviculture and pomology in Arusha”. He emphasized.

He said people in Arusha town are planting trees for attractions, fence, shade, and fruits and this forms   a valuable part of our natural heritage, regardless of challenging environments for these planted trees. In some suburbs still inhabitants make use of trees for boma strengthening, housing construction and entrepreneurs are making furniture’s out of use of tree products. Schools are protecting buildings using trees and are also making use of flowering species for decorations, fencing and environmental teachings. “Jane Goodall`s Roots & Shoots - Arusha believes that Tanzania is a country with astonishing biodiversity and vast environmental resources, but that natural heritage is seriously endangered by a general lack of education, awareness and information which needs to be culturally communicated to the public, to respond to the needs of a rapidly growing population.  Education about, awareness of and engagement in environmental issues to the young people would only be absolutely vital to ensure that the country develops its economy in a way that it manages to preserve and sustain the environments, while improving the livelihoods of the Tanzanian people”. Said Mr. Japhet

Speaking at the event, the Roots & Shoots regional Chairman, Mr. Kleruu Sumaye, said his club has established tree nurseries in 11 Primary and Secondary Schools around Arusha where 32000 seedlings have been raised to comprise tree species of indigenous, naturalized, flowering and agro-forestry species potential for public and school planting. He said students are trained on how to collect seeds, treat seeds, sow, carry tube potting and day to day`s nursery managements. “We will invite the Arusha community members to take trees and show them how to plant, when to plant and where to plant. In this way we will be able to assist the nation with tree planting efforts and so we will make changes to happen by ensuring that students and members of the public in Arusha become environmentally sensitive. By so doing we are sure of starting to see that environments becomes one of the priority agenda in people`s day to day`s life”. He concluded.