UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has launched Green Tree Evolution this month, a 10-million-tree-planting effort to green Kampala City.
To kick-off the project, Real Muloodi Sudhir Ruparelia planted the first tree at his home in Kololo, Kampala. The property tycoon personally took part in the planting. Rebecca Kadaga, the former Speaker of Parliament, also planted several trees in her home in Muyenga.
NWSC teams planted an impressive 20,000 trees on the first day of the campaign. Officials said other teams will work with many NWSC customers to deliver and plant trees across the city in their bid to green Kampala.
Kampala Capital City recently gained recognition as a Tree-City of the World, making it the first African city to be recognised by the programme.
Tree Cities of the World is an international programme that recognises and celebrates cities worldwide committed to growing and maintaining their urban forest. Kampala will join a network of like-minded cities that recognise the role of trees in creating healthy, resilient, and happy urban centres because of this recognition.
Planting trees in a metropolitan area has several advantages, including mitigating pollution and heat, improved storm water management, and erosion prevention. But an important and often overlooked benefit is that trees can actually produce positive returns for the economy.
To highlight the true value of planting and maintaining urban trees, City Green prepared a list explaining the importance of trees for a city.
Visual Appeal
Trees turn congested cities into more harmonic and appealing places by bringing colour to grey places and isolating various urban fabric elements such as people, automobiles, buildings, parking lots from one another. Trees improve the quality of city life, making urban environments more liveable and sustainable for everyone.
Trees Eliminate Air Pollution
Trees can reduce air pollution by absorbing carbon dioxide. This combats air pollution in the cities caused by population growth and industrialization.
According to studies, increasing the urban tree canopy by 10% improves ozone levels by 3% to 7%. A mature tree can take up to 48 pounds of carbon dioxide, whereas trees planted close together absorb nine times more pollutants than those not grown in a group.
Cooling Effect
Trees lower heat and produce a cooling effect on local temperatures by transpiring water and creating shade. An ordinary home in the city can save 15% to 35% on their energy expenditures by properly planting urban street trees.
Health Benefits
Trees can help people who have asthma, skin cancer, hypertension, and other stress-related illnesses because of their ability to protect people from pollutants and harsh weather. Stress hormones (cortisol) in our brains reduce when trees surround us. According to PML daily, trees minimize the danger of stress and anxiety in a population by relaxing and therapeutic impact.
Trees Increase the Value of Real Estate
Trees create climate change mitigation, ecosystem conservation, disaster prevention, livelihood development, and sustainable infrastructures.
By providing a more pleasant and safer atmosphere, trees improve home values by an average of 5% to 20%. According to expert realtors, trees contribute to the property value of nearby houses and businesses more than non-street trees.
Trees Absorb Large Quantities of Storm Water
Through Osmosis, a mature and healthy tree can absorb up to 450 litres of water through its roots. Even tree leaves help in flood control. When raindrops bounce off tree leaves, the rain droplets do not hit the ground as hard, reducing erosion and floods. Trees successfully keep rainwater (which may include dangerous chemicals) out of waterways.
According to Tree Cities of the World, trees yield 3–5 times their cost in overall benefits to a city. And because properly placed trees can increase property values from 5–20% as well as attract and keep tenants, it is little wonder that Real Muloodi’s like Sudhir Ruparelia support the campaign to green Kampala City.
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