By Godwin Agaba
“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit,” goes a Greek proverb.
On April 8, 2022, I had a road trip from Dayton (Ohio) to Tampa (Florida), which I dubbed “Adventure drive to Florida”. The driving distance from Dayton, Ohio to Florida is989 miles / 1 592 km, a 15-hour drive. This, really, is a long drive. From Ohio, you zip through the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. Along the way, there are many must see features like the Cincinnati- Covington suspension bridge which spans the Ohio river between Ohio’s Queen City Cincinnati and Covington, Kentucky; Kentucky cattle and horse farms , Kentucky Horse Park, a number of bourbon distilleries, Tennessee state parks, the scenic Cumberland Plateau,Rock Island and Fall Creek Falls, Knoxville and Chattanooga, Nashville.
Chattanooga (which sounds, in a way, like Mutanoga, a village in Ntungamo), I was told, is most tourist-friendly. Then there is the traffic in Atlanta and its silky roads.
The Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park protects the land that saw some of the bloodiest, hardest-fought battles of the Civil War. In 1863, the Union and the Confederacy fought for control of Chattanooga, a railroad center known as the Gateway to the South. In addition to the Chickamauga battlefield, the park offers a visitor center and museum.
There is notorious traffic in Atlanta as I-75 balloons into a 7-lane behemoth. The World of Coca-Cola ( Georgia is a birthplace of Coca-Cola) and the Georgia Aquarium are iconic, but you can also visit the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, the Centennial Olympic Park, and the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum to learn about the author of the Southern classic, Gone With The Wind.
In Florida, you experience the plant life- bamboo, palm trees and others. Florida exudes botanical beauty.
A major corridor, the Interstate 75 serves the states of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio. I-75 is a perfect sample of the U.S. It starts at the Canadian border in Sault Ste. Marie before winding down to Detroit and into the heart of the Midwest through Michigan and Ohio. From there, it crosses Kentucky and Tennessee, passing cities like Lexington, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. I-75 is a main route to Atlanta. From Atlanta, it continues into Florida.
Whether you’re looking for the fastest route from the Midwest to Florida, or you happen to be enjoying the ride between some cool cities, I-75 is loaded with plenty to see and do along the way.This mega route lays out as a lesson for East African community (EAC) .
EAC need a super highway connecting the West Coast to the East Coast in order to develop and to achieve full Integration.
These US states through which 1-75 goes are of great beauty with savannah-clad rolling hills, flat lands, farmlands with diverse crops and fruits.
But one of the main attractions in all these states is the tree cover which makes the whole place come to life besides the visual marvel. A third of U.S is forested, covered by a diversity of species.
Here, Iam talking about vast forests in national parks and hills. Forests are the best nature-based solution to climate change. Annually in USA, forests and forest products capture and store almost half of the country’s carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels. The more the forest cover, the better for the carbon economy.
Countries around the world are bracing for heat waves arising from climate change. One way they are taking on the threat of our changing climate is to plant more trees.
Ugandans, what are we waiting for? A heat wave to incinerate us all and everything we know as nature? Why are we not planting trees? Why can’t we dress all those rolling hills and flat lands with trees? Where are the environmentalists?
We love many things about America, the Land of Opportunities, its people, its movies, music, big cars, its politics, military prowess and power, history and so on, but I think its “tree culture” is what we need to emulate if we are to survive the uncertain future.
Very soon, Iam launching a “Plant one million trees” campaign.
The newly appointed Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), can you be role models for tree planting? You have the power and mandate. Start weekly tree planting campaigns in your areas for your people to awaken to the new world that lies ahead of a well-forested (green) environment! Beyond the physical beauty, your descendants down the generations will thank you for your investment in your own wellbeing and their inheritance. Make a move today!
The Writer is American –based Ugandan freelance journalist.