Students get hands dirty planting 500 trees for Bulolo

STUDENTS from three primary schools and Bulolo Forestry College on Friday planted more than 500 hoop pine trees to mark the International Day of Forest.
The planting was done over 10 hectares of land belonging to the Wau Bulolo National Forest Service plantation.
With on-going forest plantation activities, Wau Bulolo National Forest Service manager Peter Damba said he was happy that Bulolo had for the first time observed the international day.
“The knowledge of sustainable and green towns and cities must be translated to students early so that is why the engagement of students is vital in such an important day – means a lot in the long run,” he said.
He said the main aim was to get the younger generation to be mindful of the importance of maintaining a greener forest cover.
“This is one way we can make Bulolo town green, at the same time driving a message into the students’ mind when it comes to forest conservation and the important role it plays to human existence,” Damba said.
The students were told about the importance of planting to replace what had been cut or destroyed.
They were also told that the government’s Vision 2050 goals included having a total of 800,000 hectares of land covered by forest.
National forest service coordinator for research and development Mondo Karma said it was the duty of every citizen to make sure that trees were replaced after being cut.
He said it was not the job of only a particular group like Papua New Guinea Forest Authority but everyone’s job.