Equity Bank Uganda and My Tree Initiative Uganda have launched a programme to plant 200,000 trees across Ugandan schools by December 2027, starting with 3,500 planted at Nakanyonyi Secondary School in Mukono district last week.The Equi Green Schools Programme will run in two phases. The first, to the end of this year, covers 50,000 trees across 25 schools in 10 districts. The remaining 150,000 will be planted in 2027 through school orchards.It follows an earlier partnership between the two organisations in which 1,500 trees were planted at Kyasanku Hill College in Mpigi district.Speaking at the launch on September 25, Rtd. Gen. Katumba Wamala, minister for Public Service, called on the private sector to back similar efforts.“The environment has a way of revenging because we have severely disturbed it; what you see in this extreme sunshine is nature fighting back,” he said. “As the patron of My Tree Initiative, I call upon the private sector to emulate Equity Bank for what they have done for the environment.”Gift Shoko, managing director of Equity Bank Uganda, said the programme was intended to give students a direct role in conservation.“By involving students directly in tree planting, we turn climate action from an abstract conversation into something young people can see, touch and take ownership of,” he said.My Tree Initiative executive director Enjer Ashiraf said the bank had already supported the planting of 1,500 trees at Kyasanku Hill College, and was now engaging students in hands-on planting. Nakanyonyi Secondary School head teacher George Wateta said hosting the launch was a milestone for the school.The programme supports Equity Group’s regional target of planting 35 million trees across East Africa under its Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan.Uganda’s forest cover has fallen from 24 per cent to below 9 per cent over recent decades, driven by deforestation, agricultural expansion and unsustainable practices. Working through schools, the programme aims to address the loss at community level and turn classrooms into centres for climate education and ecosystem restoration.The post Equity Bank, My Tree Initiative to plant 200,000 trees in schools by 2027 appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.