The exercise was attended by a large number of youths from the village and was conducted at the Pakalinding Lower Basic School, Pakalinding village and Kanuma villages, all in the Jarra West and Central Districts of the Lower River Region respectively.In a related development, the organization distributed some agricultural equipment to the communities of the afrementioned districts as well asthe region’s forestry office. Speaking duringthe planting exercise in Pakalinding village, Jatto Sillah, the minister for Forestry and the Environment thanked the people for responding to President Jammeh’s call to plant more trees.

Minster Sillah went further to acknowledge the efforts of the youths in the community forest initiative, noting that Gambian youths are now taking development into their own hands.He encouraged them to continue doing more and not only to stop at planting more trees but also endeavour to make sure that trees planted are protected. The Forestry minister went on to warn the populace especially the community of Jarra to desist from the practice of bush fire which he observed was very common in the region, adding that his ministry will not take it lightly with anyone engaged in the practice of bush fire. He also commended Green Trust on their activities while encouraging them to continue the good work, noting that their activities are very vital towards the development of mankind. He seized the opportunity to call on the beneficiaries to make best use of the donation.

Speaking earlier, Ebrima Kinteh, the coordinator of Green Trust said their aim is to empower the community through community forest initiatives. He added that their tree planting exercise is part of a series of activities embarked upon by his organization in the Lower River Region. He also unveiled that some three thousand fruit trees and non fruit trees were planted in the village of Pakalinding and another two thousand trees planted in the village of Kanuma, Jarra central district. Kinteh thanked the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) Banjul Office for their support and called on other institutions toemulate UNDP. He finally urged the beneficiaries to continue their collaboration with his organization while emphasizing that all is geared towards the restoration of our environment.