CHANCO IN TREE PLANTING DRIVE

Chancellor College has a lot of land. The physical infrastructure occupies a smaller fraction of the existing land. What the college has decided to do as a way of preserving the rest of the land is to plant trees.

Recently, the College partnered with FRIM in order to plant trees on the area surrounding the sewage ponds. According to Mr Kumvenji Lamba, Assistant Registrar responsible for administration, the decision was not just for aesthetic purposes. “We intend for the pine trees to be a natural barrier for the foul smells that may emanate from the ponds,” he said.

Gathered at the site on the morning of 2nd February, 2019, were various members of staff from Chancellor College, as well as a few students who had heard the call even while they were on holiday. They all went to work, dirtying their hands in the satisfying work of afforestation.

According to Mr Ngalande, the college forestry officer, the immediate plan is to plant trees in roughly 2 hectares of college land, some of which lies along the Mulunguzi and Likangala rivers and the college purchased approximately 5050 trees to be planted. These include pine, mbawa, nyowe, mkundi, and acacia varieties. Most of these trees take around 20 years to mature.

Mr Ngalande points out that when school is in session, the students are among those who volunteer in large numbers to partake in the exercise.

The Principal of Chancellor College, Prof. Richard Tambulasi, who was also part of the gathering, pointed out that not only was this a way of fulfilling Chancellor College’s aim to be a campus in a park, but also a way of community engagement, showing how the college is not just about books and lectures, but also caring about the environment.

The survival rate of previously planted trees has been excellent such that the area around Chirunga stadium is now a reclaimed forest.