The Customs Officers’ Wives Association, Federal Operations Unit Zone C, Owerri Chapter, has joined the nationwide green border initiative tree planting campaign, tagged “Plant 1000 Trees in 1 Hour”.

According to a Monday statement obtained by The PUNCH, the project initiated by the National President of COWA, Mrs Kikelomo Adeniyi, aims to educate and enlighten the public, especially students, on the dangers of global warming and environmental degradation.

The statement added that the awareness campaign took centre stage last week at the Community Secondary School Orogwe in Owerri West LGA, Imo State.

In her welcome address, the COWA Chairperson of the FOU Zone C Chapter, Mrs Bolanle Balogun, called for the urgent need for “environmental sustainability action” and encouraged everyone to join the initiative.

“As we know, global warming raises Earth’s average surface temperature over time primarily due to human activities. It amplifies the natural greenhouse effect, where certain atmospheric gases trap heat from the sun to keep the planet habitable,” Balogun said.

She charged the staff of the school, led by the principal, to be Green Borders Initiative Ambassadors for the sustainability drive. “Without environmental sustainability, natural systems can collapse, leading to resource shortages, extreme weather, and biodiversity loss.”

Balogun urged students to replicate the exercise in their communities and promised that COWA would renovate the school’s physics, biology, and chemistry laboratories.

Earlier, the school principal, Mrs Nwanu Anayochi, thanked God and COWA for selecting the school for the awareness campaign.

She pledged full support for the initiative and committed the entire school to spreading the message to communities and surroundings.

The event featured a practical tree-planting exercise led by the COWA chairperson, the school principal, the Green Ambassadors, and officers’ wives.