ICEA Lion, KCB Bank and My Tree Initiative launch school greening drive

October 3, 2025 in Land & Agriculture by Editor

Ugandan insurer ICEA LION, KCB Bank and the youth-led non-profit My Tree Initiative have launched a joint tree planting programme targeting schools, as part of efforts to tackle the country’s declining forest cover.

Uganda lost an estimated 1.16 million hectares of tree cover between 2001 and 2024, equivalent to 15 percent of its 2000 forest cover, according to Global Forest Watch. Population growth, demand for fuel, and agricultural expansion are the main drivers of deforestation.

The partners said the initiative aims to plant 2,400 trees in schools across Uganda by the end of 2025. So far, 60 trees have been planted at St Mark’s College Namagoma, 100 at City High School, and 400 at Mother Kevin Primary School.

In their latest activity, held at Padre Pio Nursery and Primary School and Exodus College School in Wakiso, the three organisations planted 1,005 trees. The event also featured sessions on environmental stewardship and financial literacy for students.

The My Tree Initiative, which is run by young climate activists, is providing technical guidance for the greening campaign. ICEA LION and KCB Bank say the school-based model is designed to build environmental awareness among students while expanding local tree cover.

Students at the participating schools each planted and named a tree, a symbolic gesture organisers said was intended to promote individual responsibility for conservation.

The project comes as Uganda seeks to restore its depleted forest reserves, with government pledging to increase forest cover from the current 12.4 percent to 24 percent by 2040 under its National Forest Plan.