President John Dramani Mahama leading the tree planting exercise
President John Dramani Mahama, together with Dome-Kwabenya Member of Parliament, Faustina Akurugu Elikplim, led a symbolic tree planting exercise on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at the Atomic Cluster of Schools in Kwabenya to climax the national celebration of World Environment Day.
The event, held in Dome-Kwabenya, served as the official launch of Ghana’s ‘One Child, One Tree’ initiative, a nationwide environmental campaign aimed at involving every school-age child in tree planting and environmental stewardship.
After addressing dignitaries, environmental activists, and hundreds of schoolchildren gathered for the occasion, President Mahama and Elikplim Akurugu planted tree seedlings to demonstrate their commitment to the cause and encourage others to follow suit. Their symbolic act was met with cheers from students and teachers who had gathered for the programme.
“This is more than just planting trees. It is about raising a generation that takes responsibility for protecting our environment,” President Mahama said after planting his tree.
The initiative, a joint effort between the Presidency and the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, seeks to combat Ghana’s pressing environmental challenges, including deforestation, land degradation, and plastic pollution. Seedlings will be distributed nationwide, with tree species tailored to suit the ecological conditions of each region.
President Mahama emphasized that by 2030, the programme is expected to result in tens of millions of trees planted across Ghana, contributing to cooling urban areas, stabilizing soils, and absorbing harmful carbon emissions.
The ‘One Child, One Tree’ initiative builds on the Tree for Life Afforestation Programme launched earlier this year, which aims to restore over seven million hectares of degraded land.
Faustina Akurugu Elikplim also called on parents, teachers, and community leaders to support the youth in nurturing their trees and instilling a long-term sense of responsibility for the environment.
The tree planting ceremony in Dome-Kwabenya marked a strong start to what officials describe as one of the country’s most ambitious environmental programmes in recent history.
