26 May 2019

Forest Conservation Botswana (FCB) has embarked on an initiative  to teach young people the importance of tree planting, fruit production and conservation for improved livelihoods.

The project, which is being piloted at eight schools, four primary and four secondary in the Central, Kweneng, Ngamiland and Chobe districts, was recently launched at Shakawe Junior Secondary School, where the school received 65 mango and 65 orange tree seedlings from FCB.

The selected schools will serve as demonstration sites where communities can go to learn the latest cost-effective technologies they can employ in their homes and farms for maximum benefit.

FCB chief executive officer, Mr Joshua Moloi said the organisation  aimed at investing in sustainable forest resource management to meet the needs of present and future generations.

He said during the 2017/18 financial year, a budget of P1.9 million was approved by the FCB board for the project and part of the amount was used to recruit project officers who were tasked with implementing specific project initiatives.

“A lot has been achieved since the commencement of this project. We have been able to establish six tree nurseries and six orchards. Environmental clubs have been revived and strengthened,” he said.

Other achievements, Mr Moloi said included setting up systems for rainwater harvesting in some of the schools as well as the procurement of seeds and tree seedlings.

He said short-term jobs were also created in the schools for local people to construct tree nurseries, orchards fences, seed beds and watered seedlings during school vacations.

Therefore, Mr Moloi said it was their hope that the successful implementation of the pilot phase would encourage benchmarking visits from other schools.

“To the learners, I encourage you to take care of this orchard and to learn as much as possible from taking care of these tree seedlings. Always be keen to ask questions on any changes you see on these trees, be it flowering, bearing of fruits, growing of new leaves and take any lessons you learn from here to your homes and communities,” he said.

Shakawe senior chief’s representative, Kgosi Kea Lempadi commended FCB for the project, noting that Okavango had very fertile soils, hence the project would thrive.

He also noted that Shakawe secondary school was within the Okavango river vicinity, therefore watering the plants would not be a challenge during times when the pumped water is unavailable. ENDS