Over 250 employees from Telecel Ghana and a score of students from the Kordiabe R/C Basic School volunteered to plant 10,000 seedlings in the Chipa Tributary Forest Reserve in the Shai-Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region to mark World Environment Day.

Organised in partnership with the Ghana Forestry Commission, the reforestation activity brings the telecom operator's total tally of trees planted to 43,000 in the last five years, making it one of the largest reforestation efforts by a corporate organisation in Ghana. 

The tree-planting exercise brought together the senior management team and employees, students from the local community, officials of the Forestry Commission, and local leaders.

The activity aligns with the Government of Ghana's Tree for Life Campaign, which calls on businesses and citizens to accelerate the country's reforestation agenda.

Leading hundreds of staff members to plant seedlings, Telecel Ghana's Chief Executive, Ing. Patricia Obo-Nai, said the reforestation exercise is a demonstration of a long-term annual commitment to restoring the ecosystem and contributing significantly to environmental sustainability.

"We believe that a connected Ghana must also be a green Ghana. As a business that prioritises purpose beyond profit, environmental responsibility is integral to how we operate.

Every seedling planted today is laying the roots for a sustainable future for the next generation,” Ing. Obo-Nai said.

The Forestry Commission, which selected the Chipa Forest Reserve as the tree-planting site, said the collaboration was critical to Ghana’s national reforestation goal, with a target of planting 30 million trees nationwide starting this year.

"Telecel has been helping the Forestry Commission over the years to help restore forest cover in degraded forest reserves like this one, and that supports our fight against climate change.

"We are grateful that you come in every year to plant 10,000 trees to help green Ghana,” Linda Ansah, District Manager for Tema-Ada Forest District, said.

The Chipa Forest Reserve, located in the eastern part of the Greater Accra Region, has faced pressure from human encroachment, illegal logging and sand winning.

The planting exercise targeted degraded sections of the reserve, with the plant species Acacia and Cassia selected for their ecological value and long-term canopy cover.

The local students who joined the activity said the experience was a learning moment. Edmund Odei, a Form Two student at Kordiabe R/C Basic School, believes that environmental conservation is a collective responsibility and critical to human survival.

"I’m participating in today’s tree planting exercise with Telecel Ghana because our environment needs a lot of trees to help us with air quality and survival.

"My message to the world as we mark World Environment Day is to avoid deforestation and participate more in afforestation because if the last tree dies, the last man dies.”

Despite the field's challenging wet conditions, senior leadership and employees of the telco embraced the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to reforestation and climate action.

Elsie Mensah, a Brand and Communications Manager with the Enterprise Business Unit, said the planting activity was rewarding and fulfilling.

"We decided to volunteer to plant trees because we believe it is an investment in the future of our country and the health of our environment.

"Although the wet conditions of the ground made the activity challenging, it was a rewarding experience knowing that every tree planted today will sustain the future of our environment.”

Telecel Ghana said its environmental programme is anchored in its Sustainability agenda, a structured commitment to operating in ways that reduce its ecological footprint.

Beyond tree planting, Telecel Ghana has in recent years focused on reducing the carbon footprint of its network infrastructure, expanding solar-powered network exchanges, and investing in digital tools that reduce the need for physical travel.

Ghana has lost significant forest cover over the past three decades, and climate researchers believe that restoring it will require resources, coordination, and sustained effort from both the government and the private sector.

Telecel Ghana's 43,000-tree milestone makes it the largest single corporate contributor to Ghana's reforestation effort to date. It says it will continue to plant trees annually, with targets set to rise in the years ahead.