Urban Forestry and Urban Greening in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria: a Contribution to Climate Change Mitigation

This research was aimed at finding out the practices of urban forestry and urban greening in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Climate change issue has become a major topic of discussion among even the non-environmentalists because of its several effects on human and his environment. Types of plant species planted by homesteaders were appraised as well as reasons for the choices. Knowledge of climate change (causes, effects, and mitigations) were also appraised. Among the 30 participants that were involved in the Convenient sampling semi-structured survey, 43% had knowledge of climate change; 33% had knowledge of its causes; 40% were able to show some knowledge of role of vegetations in environmental purification, while all (100%) participants agreed that they would plant more vegetations if they had the knowledge of climate change and what role vegetations could play in curbing its effects. Various plant species were found around the homesteads including tree species, ornamental / horticultural, and agricultural species. The reasons for keeping the various species included economic, medicinal, and aesthetic values, in addition to others. More environmental education activities is recommended in order to increase people’s awareness to roles that greening of the environment can play in curbing the effects of climate change.