Achimota School wins inter-school quiz

Achimota School last Saturday showed its prowess in its knowledge of climate change and forestry issues when it conquered three other schools in the maiden inter-school quiz which formed part of this year’s Forestry Week celebrations.

Although the Presbyterian Boys Senior High School (PRESEC) took an early lead in the quiz moderated by the popular ‘What Do you Know’ Quiz Master, Mr Dan Afari-Yeboah, the ‘Presecans’ were licking their wounds at the end of the contest.

Organised by the Forestry Commission, the competition was meant to court and prompt a positive attitude in the youth towards sustainable forests and wildlife management issues. 

 

Facing competition from GHANATA Senior High School in Dodowa, Amasaman Senior High Technical School (Amastech) and Achimota School, the ‘Presecans’ won round one on a high note but the second round brought misery as they failed to score a single point. 

From the second round, Achimota stepped up their game by winning the two subsequent rounds, ending the competition with 26 points. They were followed by GHANATA with 16 points; PRESEC, 15 points, and Amastech 14 points. 

While Achimota School received a laptop, cash prize, pen drive with forestry information, books and a certificate; GHANATA, the second-placed school, also received a cash prize, books, a certificate and a pen drive with forestry materials.  Presec and Amastech also received similar prizes but with lower cash prizes.

International Forest Day 

March 21 is celebrated globally as International Forest Day. The day provides a platform to raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests and of trees outside forests. 

The UN, however, allows member states to adapt the celebration of the International Day of Forests, as well as the date  to suit their peculiar circumstances.

The Forestry Commission chose the month of May for the celebration of the day because of favourable climatic conditions during that time of the year for tree planting and other silvicultural operations. 

This year’s celebration in Ghana is from May 23 to May 29. 

Reduction in forests poses threat 

Speaking before the competition, the Chairman of the Forestry Commission, Mr Andy Osei Okrah, said the commission’s  preoccupation was to create as much awareness as possible of the inherent dangers in the unbridled destruction of the country’s forest cover and the seeming aloofness on the part of a section of society, with the perception that it was the sole responsibility of the commission to protect the forests.

According to the commission’s figures, at the turn of the 20th century, the country’s forest cover stood at 8.2 million hectares but this has reduced to about 1.6 million hectares. In addition, the country is said to be losing about 65,000 hectares of forest cover annually to illegal chainsaw operations.