Officials of the Forestry Commission, joined by Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister amongst other personalities, on Friday led a tree planting exercise in Tamale to mark this year's Green Ghana Day. They planted various species of seedlings on the campus of the Tamale Technical University. Mr. Kwasi Frimpong, Northern Regional Manager, Forestry Commission, speaking after planting the trees, said a total of 500,000 trees were expected to be planted in the Northern Region as part of this year's Green Ghana Day. The Green Ghana Day has been instituted by the government to help restore the country's vegetative cover, and about 10 million trees were expected to be planted as part of this year's exercise. It was on the theme: 'Growing for a Greener Tomorrow'. Mr. Frimpong urged the citizenry and corporate bodies to join the exercise to help sustain it. He said: 'It is not just about planting trees. It is also about nurturing them to grow into maturity to help sustain the environment.' Al haji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister emphasised that tree planting was a shared responsibility to restore the country's lost vegetation. He urged residents to ensure that trees planted did not perish due to bushfires and other activities that threatened their survival. Professor Abass Braimah, Vice-Chancellor, Tamale Technical University, said climate change was threatening livelihoods and advised members of the public to demonstrate more interest and commitment to ensure that the trees planted survived. Choggu Yipel Naa, a sub-Chief of Choggu, a suburb of Tamale, lauded government for instituting the Green Ghana Day. He urged traditional leaders and communities to support the initiative. Source: Ghana News Agency