Buhimba SS takes reforestation drive to communities

Kikuube district is one of the areas that have borne the brunt of human-induced climate change. The residents are increasingly cutting down trees for charcoal burning and human settlement.

Not just sitting and looking by, Buhimba Secondary School has been spearheading the reforestation efforts as one way of restoring the degraded natural forests.

Located in Buhimba town council, Buhimba Secondary School, one of the schools implementing the Green Schools project, through its environment club, has planted over four acres of natural trees.

The club members have also been engaging the community members on the importance of tree planting and environment conservation.

The club members have also partnered with the local authorities of Buhimba town council and every Wednesday moves into the communities picking plastic waste, which they recycle into various products.

The club, with over 90 students, is being supported by the school administration to plant trees as one way of conserving the environment and recycling plastic empty bottles.

Susen Barango, the club patron, says they protect the environment as well as freeing Buhimba town of plastics, which he says do not decay and have diverse effects on the environment.

Barongo says they also engage the students and members of the community in debates about the environment and the ideas will be developed into real solutions to the environmental degradation challenge.

“We give them topics every week about environmental conservation and the ideas which they generate are developed and shared with the environment ministry, to get real solutions to the challenges,” he says.

Mercy Mauricia, the club president, says they have been taught how to recycle plastic bottles and make brooms and dustbins.

She says as a club, they also engage other students at school in their activities aimed at conserving the environment.

“I am happy that most of the students in the school have embraced environmental conservation and whenever we have community activities, we do it as a whole school and the school administration has been supportive,” Mauricia says.

Planting indigenous trees 

Crescent Alinda, a member of the club, says the district has lost most of its natural forests to timber dealers, who have destroyed animal habitats and sources of nutrition.

“We need to restore the natural forest cover and we have embarked on planting indigenous tree species to save the area from environmental hazards resulting from continued deforestation. Alinda says they have planted over 1,000 indigenous trees and also give some to the community members to plant.”

“We also promote the planting of indigenous fruit trees like jackfruit, avocados, mangoes, and guavas so that people can conserve the environment and earn some money from their trees,” Alinda says.

The planted trees include mahogany milcia excelsa (mvule), maesopsis eminii (musizi) prunus Africana (entaseesa), and musambya trees.

A total of 4,600 tree seedlings were distributed to residents and institutions such as schools and churches for planting. Alinda says Kikuube district has one of the biggest natural forests in Uganda — Bugoma forest — however, it has for so long struggled to conserve the forest reserve.

The forest has been cut down for sugarcane growing. “Budongo forest has been depleted by Hoima Sugar company, which is using it for planting sugarcane and that is a very big challenge that our district is facing,” Alinda says.

Buhimba students with some of the dustbins recycled from plastics

He notes that indigenous trees used to provide herbal medicine but they are now buying herbal medicine from countries such as China.

Steven Itaaza, the Buhaguzi Member of Parliament, has applauded Buhimba Secondary School for the initiative of tree planting, saying it is a good method that will help conserve the environment as the Government also solves wrangles surrounding the forest reserves to ensure reforestation.

He says they intend to train the beneficiaries so that many of the seedlings do not end up dying.

Denis Katusabe, a resident of Buhimba town council, says they are working with the school in ensuring that they conserve the environment.

“The trees help reshape the environment and provide shade for people. We have also started using energy-saving stoves,” Katusabe says.

“I collect all the empty water bottles and make dustbins and also make brooms. The brooms made out of the water bottles are very good for cleaning compounds,” he says.

“We have been encouraged to plant indigenous trees and we get them for free. We have been taught to plant and maintain them,” Katusabe says.

Energy saving stoves 

Barongo says the school constructed energy-saving stoves, which have helped to reduce the rate at which they cut down trees for firewood.

“Previously, we would use eight to 10 lorries of firewood per term, but since we started using the energy-saving stoves, we are now using two lorries per term.

We are also encouraging the members of the community to start using them,” Barongo says. He says they have also partnered with a local organisation to help them start using biogas energy.

Which challenge is being addressed? 

The students are addressing the increasing depletion of natural forests in the Kikuube district, which is one of the refugee-hosting districts.

“Kikuube district hosts Kyangwali Refugee Settlement and a lot of trees have been cut down by the refugees because they want to get timber and wood for construction,” Barongo says.

He says most of the trees around Kyangwali have been cut down but nothing has been done to restore them.

“We need to plant more trees in Kyangwali as one way of addressing the challenges facing the communities,” Barongo says.

Jacob Asiimwe, a resident of Buhimba town council, says the school needs more support because it is operating on a minimal budget and sometimes students clean around the town council without gloves.

Challenges

Harriet Kahwa, the school deputy headteacher, says the main challenge they are facing is a lack of equipment to use and funding.

“The club is entirely funded by the school and we don’t have enough funds. Sometimes they have to halt their activities because of lack of funds,” Kahwa says.

She says the other challenge faced by the school is stray animals, which destroy the trees planted within the school compound and the communities.