As part of activities to mark this year's World Environment Day Celebration, the Mpraeso Area Office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in collaboration with the Afforestation Volunteers, a non- governmental organization in the Kwahu area, have embarked on a tree planting exercise in schools across the Kwahu area in the Eastern Region.

The schools where the trees were planted included, Mpraeso Methodist School, Atibie Methodist School, Nkawkaw Pentecost School, Mpraeso Presbyterian School, Obomeng Methodist School and Obo D/A schools.

The tree species planted included cedrella, teak and mahogany.

Speaking on the theme, 'Clean air, our life line and shared responsibility’, Mr Sylvester Awozum, the Mpraeso Area Head of EPA, said the gesture was to help create public awareness and to educate the public on the need to protect the environment from negative human activities.

He said the Afforestation Volunteers supplied over 2,050 tree seedlings to the Agency to be planted in the schools and said the Agency together with the pupils and staff of the NGO have been able to plant about 1,000 of the seedlings.

He said a comprehensive post-planting program has been drawn and adopted by the area office, the NGO and the basic/JHS schools to nurture the young seedlings into maturity for a period of at least five months.

Mr Awozum said EPA and the Afforestation Volunteers would be collaborating to produce more of the seedlings to be planted in communities across the districts to help replace the trees cut down or destroyed by human activities.

He therefore tasked the school heads to take good care of the trees planted on their compounds to help create healthy environments in their schools.