By Wellington Sibale

Neno, March 4, Mana: Neno District Youth Network is planning to plant over 40,000 trees across the district as part of the newly launched "One Youth, Ten Trees" campaign.

Speaking during the launch of the initiative Monday at Chisupa Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) in the area of Group Village Headman Zalewa, Traditional Authority (T/A) Symon, Neno District Youth Network Vice Chairperson, Charles Chikwasa, reaffirmed the commitment of youth to make Neno green.

"As youth leaders, our mission is to inspire change. By launching this exercise first, we are showing our fellow youths that we can build tomorrow’s Malawi by planting trees," Chikwasa said.

He emphasized that the initiative, championed by the National Youth Council of Malawi (NYCOM), aimed to restore degraded forests and promote environmental conservation adding it will be rolled out across all five youth networks of Symon, Chekucheku, Dambe, Mlauli and Chikalema to ensure widespread participation.

However, Chikwasa noted challenges, particularly lack of full support from the district council and expressed hope that continued engagement with local authorities would address issues and strengthen the campaign.

Chairperson of Education, Youth, and Sports Service Committee, Mark Ngwangwa highlighted the critical role of young people in environmental conservation.

"Youths are very important in conserving our environment. We always encourage them to be involved in tree planting to replace the cut ones,"

 “We need to restore our degraded land and plant trees in barren areas. Trees play a vital role in attracting rainfall and protecting houses from strong winds," Ngwangwa said.

Neno District Forestry Officer, Erick Mbingwani stressed the importance of educating youth and the wider community on environmental restoration.

"This campaign will help restore degraded sites and ensure the continued availability of tree products for future generations," Mbingwani said.

He said so far, Neno District has planted over 371,000 tree seedlings against their target of 700,000 in this forestry season.

To improve survival rates, Mbingwani urged youth and community members to plant healthy and mature seedlings, protect them from browsing animals and fire, clear weeds, and water them during dry periods.

During the launch, which was held under the theme "Restore forests and land to secure food production," 500 Tsanya tree seedlings were planted, donated by Nsawenza Youth Holding, a local Non-Governmental Organization in the district.

The campaign is being supported by the Neno Active Youth Organization, which is implementing a Save the Children-funded climate change project in T/As Symon and Mlauli, and additional support has come from ESCOM and Msaweza Youth.

The launch event also showcased the planting of various tree species, including Colophospermum mopane (Tsanya), Afzelia quanzensis (Msambafumu) and Albizia lebbeck (Mtangatanga).