First Bank Plants 50,000 Trees To Aid Abuja Green Cover
According to the bank, the initiative, led by Aishatu Bubaram, the group executive of commercial banking for the North at First Bank, was part of its 2024 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme.
The bank stated that the tree-planting effort at Government Secondary School (GSS), Karshi, Abuja, which involves planting 50,000 trees, was part of a broader goal to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions and preserving the environment.
“The essence of planting 50,000 trees is environmental conservation,, and being economic trees, we believe will outlive our generation and benefit future generations she said.”
“First Bank’s goal, initiated during our Corporate Sustainability Week in 2023″ Aishatu Bubaram explained, “is to plant 50,000 trees by 2024. We are well on our way to achieving this, with 30,000 trees planted this year,” she added.
She observed that trees play an indispensable role in our environment. They purify the air we breathe, stabilise the climate, prevent soil erosion, and provide habitats and food for diverse species, including humans.
In a world increasingly threatened by climate change, planting trees is one of the most effective ways to restore balance to our ecosystems she concluded.
Also speaking at the event, the zonal coordinator, Nigerian Conservation Foundation, NCF, Muhammad Garba Beyo, expressed the Foundation’s dedication to the initiative, aligning with its biodiversity conservation and sustainable development mission, explaining that the Nigerian Conservation Foundation established 42 years ago, focuses on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development through what he calls the Green Recovery initiative designed to improve Nigeria’s vegetation cover, “which currently stands at less than 3%—a critical issue given the environmental challenges we face,” he said.