Equity Bank in partnership with the Kenya High Commission today launched the second phase of a tree-planting campaign that will see over 43,000 indigenous trees planted on the slopes of Busoga College Mwiri hill, including 10 acres of orchard.
Equity Bank has allocated Shs85 million towards the project.
The second phase of the three-phase project was officially launched during a tree-planting exercise at the school led by the Kenya High Commissioner to Uganda, Joash Maangi, and Equity Bank’s Acting Head of Social Investment Projects, Elizabeth Wahito. Also joining were members of the Old Boys Association, members of the school, officials from Equity and the neighbouring community.
Speaking at the roll-out exercise at Busoga College Mwiri, Wahito said, “Equity is keen to see that the original forest cover of Mwiri hill is restored by planting 110 acres of Indigenous trees,”’
Adding, “This is the second phase of this project; the project was divided into three phases, the first phase was in March this year, where we planted 40 acres of indigenous trees and 10 acres of orchard, and today we are doing a second phase where we are planting 40 acres today. So, I am urging the community and teachers to please take care of the trees, let’s protect them together”’ said Wahito.
To conserve the environment, Equity has partnered with several organisations to promote various forestry initiatives to encourage the adoption of sustainable solutions for preserving natural environments.”
Kenya High Commissioner to Uganda Joash Maangi said the initiative will contribute towards addressing climate change. He said it was also an opportunity to engage young people in environmental conservation.
“When you hear about climate change, you realize it didn’t use to rain like this. Now, the rain comes haphazardly—you never know when it will start. So, we must begin protecting our environment. We hosted a conference on the environment last year and decided to take action by protecting the world around us and Mwiri is one of the areas we are working to restore. The school gave us 110 acres but we soon discovered how expensive it is to plant trees, so we asked Equity Bank for help. They partnered with us and are financing the initiative, which we really appreciate,” said High Commissioner Maangi.
Uganda’s Forestry cover is gradually increasing having decreased from 24 percent of 1990 to 8.9 percent of 2017. This is attributed to the commitment of multiple stakeholders doing tree growing across the country.
Busoga College Mwiri sits on the slopes of Mwiri hill. The slopes of the hill on which the school was built were once a forest but have over the years been degraded due to encroachment by farmers and commercial activities. These human activities have left the hills bear and prone to erosion.
The reforestation of Mwiri hill is part of the wider Equity Group target to plant 35 million trees across the six countries it operates in. Its technical partners will provide technical support including the Identification of hotspots that require urgent tree cover or rehabilitation of degraded forests; mapping out agro-ecological zones and identification of suitable tree species for planting; identification of high-quality tree seedlings stocks across the country; and support by partner and staff at local levels to supervise the proper planting and maintenance of the trees.
Through its Energy and Environment pillar, Equity Bank supports the transition to clean energy that reduces reliance on wood fuel, charcoal, and fossil fuels like kerosene as a source of energy.
To reach a larger scale and create more impact, the Bank also created an energy loan dubbed Equi-Green Loan available digitally via mobile network and at branches. The loan supports the community and institutions to access clean and affordable energy for use.
Equity is also working with farmers to support them in purchasing both indigenous tree seedlings and fruit trees.
