by Ruwarashe Makarara
A group of Kuwadzana residents are planting trees all over the community in a campaign dubbed The Greening Kuwadzana Project, which started last year.
In 2020 Kuwadzana Press (a community newspaper in Kuwadzana) partnered with Duri Green Finger Nursery (a nursery in Kuwadzana that specializes in indigenous trees) and Let’s Green the Future Trust (an environmental organisation) to implement the 5 year project which ends in 2025. The project is fully supported by the City of Harare Kuwadzana District Office.
The purpose of this grassroots driven project is to improve the living conditions of the residents of Kuwadzana through the numerous benefits of the presence of trees. ”We want our streets to look like those in the avenues or the leafy suburbs South of Samora, which are covered by a canopy of trees”, said Tafadzwa Gwini, the director of Kuwadzana Press. They also want to increase the number of fruit trees in the community as a strategy to improve household diets.
“We have a duty as residents of Kuwadzana, or any other community, to create the environment that we wish to live in. We believe that increasing the number of trees in our community will make Kuwadzana a better place to live in. We are living in an era where anything is possible, thanks to the positive impacts of globalisation”, he added.
The campaign was launched last year under the title ’14 Days of Greening Kuwadzana’ in which 280 trees were planted. This year they are targeting to plant at least 1000 trees throughout the month of December 2021. The dates of the main event are Saturday’s 4, 11 and 18 December where different partners including the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), City of Harare Parks, Welt Hunger, Citizen Initiative ZW, Enactus and others are expected to attend the event. However, trees will be planted everyday morning between 6 and 7AM, from 28 November to 1 January 2022 during exercise and stretching sessions.
The initiative has no funding, and so it is unable to attract many participants. The organisers are appealing for any forms of donations for t-shirts, banners, Refreshments, and transport. If you wish to assist with any of those needs for the purpose of making the Greening Kuwadzana Project a success, please get in touch with the City of Harare Kuwadzana District Officer Mr. Chinyanga on +263772430744, Tafadzwa Gwini on +263 772 831 644, or Tendai Moyo on +263 777 995 172.
