The Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District Assembly and the Mando Senior High School (MANSEC) on Friday jointly planted more than 1,000 assorted tree seedlings in the school to mark the Green Ghana Day.

They are expected to plant 16,000 trees as their contribution to the national tree planting exercise which seeks to plant some 10 million trees across the country.

While the school and its students are planting 4,000 trees including teak, mahogany, oil palm and mango in two weeks, the Assembly through various departments and institutions will plant 12,000.

Held on the theme: "Our Forest, Our Health", the national exercise seeks to recover the country's lost forest cover and make afforestation a national culture, particularly among the younger generation.

Led by Rev Ransford Emmanuel Kwesi Nyarko, the District Chief Executive (DCE), and Madam Roseline Ayorkor Sowah, the MANSEC Headmistress, the exercise saw a massive student participation.

Rev Nyarko noted that the Assembly was targeting schools and areas degraded by sand winning activities to recover lost vegetation, indicating that sand winning was a major challenge in the district.

Stressing the importance of trees, he said they contributed to the general wellbeing of people as they provided clean air, clean water, cooler climate, and potent medicine, among others.

"Looking at the impact of galamsey, this exercise is something we must do to ensure that our forest cover which we are losing is replenished and reclaimed," he encouraged.

Rev Nyarko commended MANSEC for actively participating in the exercise over the years and charged the school to ensure that every student owned a tree.

"Three years ago, what they planted have begun fruiting and for the headmistress to add cash crops like mango, coconut and oil palm to the Mahogany, Acacia, and Teak trees, that is commendable," he said.

The Headmistress, Madam Sowah, was hopeful that the trees would soon make them less dependent on government for infrastructure such as furniture, and food.

"We want to generate some income for the school.

"In the next five to 10 years, we will have enough mangoes and coconuts, for instance, to give to the students which we would have bought from the market," she said.

"We will also have oil palm to supplement the kitchen," she added, and promised to ensure students nurtured their trees religiously from this year on to increase the already impressive survival rate.

Mr James Dadson, a board member of the Forestry Commission and Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, who provided the 4,000 seedlings to the school, said the exercise was non-negotiable.

He cautioned that with devastation caused by galamsey and deforestation, the country risked experiencing harsh environmental and climatic conditions.

"If we don't replant, then, we will lose our forest cover and very soon our country will be experiencing what is experienced in the other countries in the Sahel Region," he stressed. "We have been blessed with a lot of rainfall and so, we cannot allow that to happen," he added.