JCI Ibadan combats climate change – one tree at a time

Junior Chamber International (JCI) Ibadan is combating climate change, one tree at a time.

 In its just concluded weekend of impact, the global organisation of young active citizens with presence in over 100 countries, flagged off a Green City Project aimed at combating the climate change.

The tree-planting campaign, led by Olawale Bakare, the JCI Ibadan chapter president and Feyisayo Oyeleke, national vice president, took place at UMC Demonstration School, Molete Ibadan.

Prior to planting the trees, students and staff of the school were given a short orientation of the importance of trees to the environment and the need to sustain such, with the students expressing commitment to tendering the trees till they mature.

As partners to the United Nations on Sustainable development Goals (SDGs), JCI Ibadan plans to take the campaign to many schools in Ibadan to encourage action that combats climate change as SDG 11 envisages.

UN BILLION TREE CAMPAIGN

The JCI Green City Project is in line with the UN “Billion Tree Campaign”, which is to encourage people, communities, organizations, business and industry, civil society and governments to collectively plant at least one billion trees worldwide each year.

The idea for the plant for the planet was inspired by Professor Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate for 2004 and founder of Kenya’s Green Belt Movement, which has planted more than 30 million trees in 12 African countries since 1977.

During the first five years of the campaign, 12,585,293,312 trees were planted and registered on the Billion Tree Campaign website.

After the planting exercise, JCI members proceeded to Ile-Ife in Osun state for a training retreat hosted in collaboration with a sister-chapter, JCI Oluyole.

The retreat, which took place at Celebration Hotel, was themed “mind your own business”, and it sought to help members learn lessons from goal setting, business idea generation to management.

The training faculty included Sheriff Ibrahim,  founder/CEO My Cash Invest; Iyiola Folayan, network engineer at VDT Communications and Frank Alarapon, business development manager, Wema Bank Plc.

Delegates had a business roundtable to discuss ideas and get mentorship from successful entrepreneurs like Frank Alarapon, JCIN Ambassador Lekan Wasiudeen, CEO Libra Multimedia, and a host of others.

The retreat was also graced by Tunji Oyeyemi, national president of JCI Nigeria and Henry Adedokun, executive vice-president.

Junior Chamber International aims to provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change.