MUST, partners in mega tree planting exercise

MUST staff and students were on Friday, March 3, 2023, joined by various partners in a tree planting exercise organized by Hikers Alliance, a team of hikers conscious of environmental protected.

Also joining in the planting of 6,500 trees were Thyolo district commissioner Mary Nawasha, Malawi Gaming and Lotteries Authority (Magla) CEO Rachel Mijiga, Southern Region Water Board zone manager Steve Minola, Director for Ndata School of Climate and Earth Sciences at MUST, Dr Wilfred Kadewa, Director of Agriculture for Thyolo, and Group Village Head Mmina.

There were also representatives of partner institutions Southern Region forestry, Hikers Alliance, Casino Marina, MUST students and staff, MUST’s Society of Sustainable Ecology, Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM), Team Adventures Malawi, Mandala Lions Club, Adventures Feet Malawi, Gateway Lodge, Mulanje Cycling Club, the Body Project, GM Plastics, Grey Fields Nurseries, media representatives and community members.

In her speech, Mrs Nawasha thanked the partners for the initiative but called on them to also play their part in tree management.

“We have many partners supporting us in tree planting exercises but very few come back to some tree management initiatives. This is why we are registering little success on the trees we are planting annually. They lack care and they do not survive,” she said, while calling on individuals to also plant trees at community and household levels.

MUST representative, Maxwell Banda, thanked all the participants and partners for their support, saying we all need to contribute towards environmental management.

Banda assured the partners that the university will take care of the trees as it appreciates their importance in environment protection and management.

Hikers Alliance team leader Austine Mndolo, Minola and Mijiga all spoke highly on the need for Malawians to protect the environment around them.

Mijiga specifically said Magla is mandated by Parliament to support community initiatives that make a difference in the lives of Malawians.