The NYSC Coordinator in Plateau, Mr Iliya Yavala, flagged-off the tree planting project on Thursday at the Government Secondary School (GSS), Dong, in Jos South Local Government Area .
Yavala stated that the initiative was to combat the increasing effects of climate change and to protect and restore nature and biodiversity.
He said that the nationwide project was a means of creating a healthy environment and ecosystem.
Yavala pointed out that trees provided a lot of benefits to humans and the environment, as they absorbed the carbon dioxide humans exhaled and released oxygen that humans inhale.
“It is imperative to plant trees to serve as mitigant against desertification, greenhouse gases emission that come from various human activities that lead to global warming.
“This tree planting, asides beautifying the environment, the trees serve as mitigants to factors responsible for climate change and global warming, the trees would also serve as wind breakers to the school and its host community.” he said.
The NYSC coordinator said that to sustain the campaign each corps member was expected to plant and nurture a tree during their service year.
He called on the principal of the school to ensure that the trees were well taken care of and nurtured to maturity.
Similarly, Mrs Grace Ogbuegebe, NYSC Director, North Central Area office ll ,
reiterated the importance of trees in reducing the effects of climate change.
“Trees are crucial to man and the environment as they improve the air quality via absorbing pollutants.
“The trees also help to control the temperature of the environment through a process called transpiration, in which they produce water vapour and they also produce shades, this cooling effect lessens the heat of the environment.
“The trees also provide soil stability, thereby protecting the soil from erosion and landslides and they also help control water cycles by absorbing and holding precipitation and gradually releasing it into the streams and rivers, ” she said.
Mrs Ladi Enoch, the Principal of GSS Dong, commended the NYSC for the initiative and gave the assurance that the trees would be nurtured to maturity.
” This gesture is a great feat for the school and the host community as these trees would serve as wind breakers and would also purify the air in our environment,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Plateau Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Mr Noel Nkup, was at the flag off exercise to lend his support.