As part of efforts to mitigate the climate change crisis, the Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) in collaboration with a non-profit organisation – The Dawn Project, has embarked on tree planting exercise.
According to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Odusanya Olumuyiwa, the exercise is necessary to protect human lives, saying about 1,000 trees would be planted across the campus.
Speaking about the exercise, the VC explained that the trees would also help in the development of technology which the university is established for, while providing shades and ambience for conducive learning environment.
He said: “The environment is where all of us live, and we choose, by action or inaction, to destroy or to build it and use it in a sustainable manner. So, tree planting is a huge, significant step to making sure the Earth can continue to support us. So for us, for the organisation to choose to give us 1000 trees, the monetary value is huge. But far more than monetary value, we know that trees form the reservoir of oxygen for us, and they also take the carbon dioxide so it helps us the world to be cooler. So. It helps prevent problems related with climate change and so for our environment, problems of health changes with climate change will become less so it’s very key and important for us.
“On the relevant of the trees to our school as science and technology university, we have Department of Agriculture and Landscape which is taking the lead direction. We can offer solution to put that of technology into how the trees are grown, into surveillance, and how to then go forward on our own, to fuse latest methods to use in the propagation of trees.”
Also speaking, the Founder, Dawn Project, Dr. Pamela Ajayi, said the purpose of the exercise was in two folds, first, to preserve the indigenous trees from going into extinction, while also serving the purpose of preserving the climate change.
Ajayi, who noted that many local trees in Nigeria have been cut, said there is need to replace them.
“Trees are symbolic. Obviously, with the number of trees that humanity has removed from the earth, it’s not possible to replace all of them at once. But what we are trying to do, in our own small way, at the Dawn Project, in association with the Green Belt Movement, is to try and replenish because we need trees. Trees are life, and we need to make sure we plant trees in our communities to ensure our sustainability, to clean the air and to provide the necessary cooling for our planet.
“We are planting different kinds of trees, some palms, some Jacaranda, different kinds of trees, some commercial some mostly are ornamental trees.
“The Green Belt Movement and the Dawn Project aim to do two things, apart from ensuring environmental sustainability with the planting of the trees, we are also propagating indigenous species of Nigerian plants.
“Often, our Nigerian plants are coming down. The volumes are reducing, particularly of the biodiversity. So we’re trying to ensure biodiversity as well as sustainability by propagating our Nigerian parts.
On why choosing University as point of planting, Ajayi said: Because LASUSTECH is a very important Scientific institution here in La Lagos, and we want to have people who care about the climate, who are aware about the issues relating to climate change. And so we are working in partnership with them to try and combat that.”
Speaking on the economic value of the trees to the country, Ajayi notes that the economic value could not be quantified.
She stated:
Because climate change is a global phenomenon, we are having issues with climate crisis and it is increasing all over the world. And the issues to do with climate change are myriad, they cut across. So every step and every plant that someone puts into the earth goes a long way. And so I would say that the we cannot quantify it, and particularly also the issues with awareness, as we’re speaking here today and we’re letting people know about the issues to do with climate change, we’re hoping that this will also create a change. So for example, someone like you can go back home, make sure you plant a tree or plant more than one tree, because you’ve understood the importance of planting trees to our environment.”
