The Nehemiah Initiative - Greening Schools, Growing Futures - Advancing Uganda’s Running Out of Trees Campaign (ROOTs)

October 10, 2025

Students at Bishop’s SSS Mukono participating in the Greening Schools Initiative.

According to Uganda’s National Forest Authority, The United Nations Environment Programme and others, Forests in Uganda are not only responsible for preserving a significant volume of terrestrial wild fauna and flora but they are a key source of Uganda’s energy needs. Additionally, they are responsible for a significant amount of Uganda’s tourism income, and employment opportunities for a larger segment of the population. Besides these facts, trees and forests are integral in providing ecosystems services and resources essential to social and economic development. The benefits are significant, both seen and unseen, yet in recent years, Uganda forests and trees remain under severe strain.

Seedlings delivered at one of the schools benefitting from the project

With this recognition, Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) and its partners have been running the ROOTs campaign. It seeks to restore Uganda's tree cover by 200 million trees over a 5-year period up until 2026. The campaign envisions an annual target of planting 40 million trees each year in a bold step toward climate resilience and environmental stewardship. An integral part of this campaign is the Nehemiah Initiative: Greening Schools in Uganda Project. An innovative idea and initiative of the First Lady of Uganda the Hon. Janet Kataaha Museveni, who is also the Minister of Education and Sports (MoES) to work with schools across Uganda. The Nehemiah initiative is transforming school landscapes and communities from which students come from into vibrant green and food secure sanctuaries. The campaign is spearheaded by the First Lady in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministry of Education and Sports (MES), Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE), the National Forest Authority (NFA), district local governments and pilot schools, nationwide. The initiative is sowing the seeds of sustainability in Uganda in tandem with educating the future generation. Nurturing students to benefit from both education and environmental stewardship is foresight in itself.

Group of people planting a sapling in red soil during a ceremony; several wear masks. — Hon. Janet Kataaha Museveni, The First Lady and Minister of Sports and Education, launching the Greening Schools Project

A spotlight on Kapchorwa District

The initiative was launched on October 11, 2022, at the Teryet High Altitude Centre in Kapchorwa, by Uganda’s First Lady. The Greening of 41 seed secondary schools across Uganda is showcasing the government’s commitment to integrating environmental conservation into the heart of education and learning.

Since January 2023 the Nehemiah Initiative is under implementation in 41 seed secondary schools across five regions—West Nile, Eastern, Western, Central, and Northern Uganda. These schools involved are becoming hubs of ecological transformation, where students learn not just from textbooks, but from the trees, soil, and sustainable systems around them.

Map with many red location pins scattered across a lake-filled region. — Map showing the reach of the Greening Schools Initiative

The schools are cultivating climate conscious leaners with the aim of:

Greening school spaces with shade trees, fruit trees, woodlots, and boundary hedges.
Creating conducive learning environments that promote health, comfort, and biodiversity regeneration.
Protecting school land from encroachment through natural fencing.
Building climate awareness and instilling sustainable practices among learners and communities.

The initiative is also building solidarity amongst student and teachers through activating environmental clubs, which advance environment education. This being a means of integrating climate smart learning into the curriculum. To promote water conservation and facilitate the tree growing culture, installation of rainwater harvesting systems is ensuring that schools maximize the use of rain water. This reduces water runoff while enhancing water conservation. The integrated approach is therefore empowering learners through the one child, one tree initiative hence fostering personal connection to living in harmony with nature.

Three women in green tops and yellow skirts work with dry straw in a farmyard. — Students at St. Katherine Secondary School watering the seedlings received

A Greener, Smarter Generation

The Nehemiah Initiative is already making a substantial impact towards increasing green cover, restoring school environments, reducing pressure on nearby forests and natural resources, enhancing students’ environmental awareness and behaviours, contributing to Uganda’s reafforestation targets and greenhouse gas reduction efforts, and protecting school land from encroachment through natural fencing. Thus far, this initiative has seen the planting and growing of over 303,000 seedlings of different species of trees all across Uganda. Species featuring in this extensive exercise include: Mangoes, Avocado, Annona muricata, Jack fruit, Guava, Oranges, Mahogany, Musizi, Prunus Africana, Terminalia superba, among others.

As Uganda reinvigorates the 2025 ROOTs campaign exercise this October, the Nehemiah initiative stands out as more than a complementary national tree-growing project, as it is about nurturing a future generation that understands the value of nature, takes pride in protecting it, and leads Uganda toward a sustainable development. With every tree planted, a lesson is learned, a life is touched, and a sustainability legacy is built, while expanding opportunities for communities all around Uganda to continue to enjoy ecosystem services.

Photograph of young seedlings in a raised bed framed by wooden rails with a label. — Artocarpus heterophyllus, one of the species delivered to the schools

Anchoring the initiative in Global and National Frameworks

The Nehemiah initiative is strategically aligned with several key global and national initiatives:

Uganda ROOTs Campaign: Building on the momentum of Uganda’s flagship tree-growing movement, The Nehemiah Initiative amplifies young people’s actions to scale up tree-growing efforts. It reinforces the vision of a greener, more sustainable Uganda with strong public, private engagement, local ownership and inclusive participation.
UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030): The Nehemiah Initiative contributes directly to this global call to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems. By empowering children and young people to lead restoration efforts, it supports the decade’s goals of reviving natural habitats, improving livelihoods, and combating climate change.
UNDP Nature Pledge: As part of UNDP’s commitment to nature-positive development, the Nehemiah Initiative demonstrates the pledge in action, integrating nature into decision-making, protecting biodiversity, and promoting sustainable land use. It showcases how children and youth-led action can drive systemic change and foster harmony between people and planet.

Planting Hope, One Tree at a Time

By Ian King, Resident Representative ai.