By BRIAN HATYOKA –

GREENPOP, an organisation which promotes tree planting, is planning to plant more than 4, 000 trees in various parts of Livingstone during the next three weeks to promote a green and sustainable environment.
Last year, Greenpop planted 3, 358 trees over a period of 21 days at 16 schools, one women’s group, one church and on a community farm in Livingstone.
Greenpop outreach coordinator Will McAneny said her entity wanted to build on tree-planting efforts in the region by planting between 4, 000 to 5, 000 additional indigenous and fruit trees in Livingstone over a period of three weeks starting from Sunday next week.
In a statement released in Livingstone yesterday, Mr McAneny said Greenpop wanted to continue expanding the project in the tourist capital following its successful project of planting trees over the last three years.
“Under the Trees for Zambia project this year , Greenpop will plant indigenous and fruit trees at 12 schools, one hospital, one prison, one police station, two churches, three community farms, a biogas digester site and the Victoria Falls.
“In addition, the community will create gardens, food forests, eco-brick benches, rocket stoves and more, including painting environmentally themed murals at a school through a facilitated
workshop created by the children,” he said.
Greenpop would also continue to highlight alternative, energy-efficient solutions to make the project effective over the long, as well as the short term.
“For example, introducing rocket stoves as alternative cooking mechanisms that use far less of the charcoal that serves as one of the leading causes of deforestation in the region.
“In the same vein, Greenpop supplements all of its urban greening and reforestation projects in Livingstone with education, to ensure that the communities where trees are planted, can continue to share and build upon the knowledge learned and trees planted over the course of the project,” he said.
Mr McAneny said the entity was also planning to launch the first-ever programme designed to let all who possess expertise in any field relevant to sustainability, to share their knowledge with the project at large through workshops and presentations.