Equity Bank targets 200,000 trees in Uganda’s schools—with survival the real test

For students at Nakanyonyi Senior Secondary School in Uganda, a new tree-planting campaign promises something tangible: relief from dry-season heat. Their school in Mukono District hosted the launch of Equity Bank’s plan to plant and nurture 200,000 trees in schools by 2027, according to Daily Monitor Uganda. About 3,000 trees were planted at the launch, but officials stressed that getting seedlings into the ground is only the beginning.

The Equity Green Schools Programme will first plant and protect 50,000 trees at 25 schools across 10 districts by the end of this year. Another 150,000 are planned for 2027 through school orchards nationwide. The approach puts students directly into conservation work while giving schools trees that can eventually provide shade, fruit and protection for their surroundings.

Head teacher George Wateta said the project responds to a problem learners already face: extreme temperatures during the dry season. He described the trees as an investment in future generations, with benefits both for classroom conditions and for students’ understanding of why nature needs protection. Those benefits, however, depend on sustained care after the planting events finish.

A school campaign within a regional bank commitment

Equity Bank Managing Director Gift Shoko said schools were chosen because they help form the attitudes and values of future generations. Involving learners in planting and conservation, he said, makes climate action practical and encourages them to take responsibility for their environment. He also described environmental sustainability as a central part of the bank’s strategy alongside economic growth.

The Ugandan programme sits within Equity Bank’s broader commitment to plant 35 million trees across East Africa under its Energy, Environment and Climate Change agenda. Over the past five years, the bank has supported the planting of more than 60,000 trees in Uganda, provided more than Shs34 billion in climate financing—funding for climate-related activities—and supported over 800 green enterprises, Daily Monitor Uganda reported.

The challenge is keeping trees alive

At Friday’s launch, retired Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala urged young people to help reverse environmental damage. He linked rising temperatures, worsening floods and longer dry spells to forest loss and wetland destruction. He also called on the National Environment Management Authority and the National Forestry Authority to strengthen enforcement against activities that damage ecosystems, despite resistance from the public.

Sowed Sewagudde, acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Water and Environment, argued that seedling survival should be the measure of success. Mature trees, he said, deliver shade, protect water sources, store carbon and support biodiversity—the variety of living things in an ecosystem.

Success should be judged by how many seedlings survive, not simply how many are planted, Sowed Sewagudde said.

The initiative complements Uganda’s Running Out of Trees campaign, launched in 2019. More than 82 million seedlings have been planted under that effort, helping forest cover recover from 10.7% to 13%. Uganda’s target is 24% by 2040. The next milestones are the first 50,000 school trees and the larger orchard rollout in 2027; the longer-term test is whether those seedlings survive and contribute to that recovery.