World Environment Day: Visionscape, Firm To Plant 1,000 Trees In Lagos

A leading environmental utility group, Visionscape and the first sustainable beach in Nigeria, Kids Beach Garden (KBG) have perfected plans to plant 1,000 trees in the coastal areas of Lagos State in commemoration of the World Environment Day (WED) slated to come up on June 5, 2017.

The tree planting exercise, according to a statement jointly issued on Sunday by Visionscape and KBG, is billed to hold between 7am and 12pm at the Garden located in Ikate area of the State.

Visionscape, which is the concessionaire appointed by the Lagos State Government to implement the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI), is putting up the programme to bring awareness on the need to carry out deliberate actions to protect the environment.

The exercise was part of efforts to raise global awareness on the emerging environmental issues from marine pollution and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime.

Aside the tree planting exercise, the event would also be devoted towards encouraging beach cleaning, recycling and sanitation activities across the Lagos coastline, while sports, fitness and physical health would also be on display, all in a bid to exhibit the possibility of a truly green society.

The WED has grown to become a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually.

The day set aside by the United Nations (UN) since 1974, is the biggest annual event for positive environmental action, and is the UN’s principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action to protect the environment.

According to the statement, “This year’s theme – Connecting People To Nature – urges us to get outdoors and appreciate nature, the world’s beauty and its importance, while empowering us to protect the Earth.

“By this, the UN wants us to think about role and dependence on nature and as well challenging the people to find fun and exciting ways to experience and cherish such vital relationship.”

Besides, the statement observed that despite efforts of the State Government to protect the environment especially the shoreline and coastline, the positive impact of such efforts were yet to be massively felt, and as such, deliberate action would be geared towards enlightening the people, especially inhabitants of the coastal areas of the State.

“Our coastlines, waterways and ocean are heavily polluted with solid and hazardous waste and despite the efforts of the State to reduce this, there is still a lot to do particularly in empowering and enlightening Lagosians of the effects.

“We have, therefore, adopted a micro and more specific method of reducing these pollution and their effects, by concentrating on the main agents of pollution – the people that inhabit the coastal areas of Lagos State,” the statement said.