Plant a tree, win ₦2.5m: Lagos launches campaign as residents battle rising temperatures

• Lagos has launched the "Me and My Tree" initiative, offering residents free tree seedlings and a chance to win ₦2.5 million.

• The owner of the best-maintained tree after one year will receive the cash prize.

• The programme is part of the state's effort to combat rising temperatures and the urban heat island effect.

If you plant a tree in Lagos and nurture it for a year, the state government will give you ₦2.5 million if it turns out to be the best one.

That is the headline offer behind "Me and My Tree," a new environmental initiative launched by the Lagos State Government last Friday at the 2026 World Environment Day celebration in Alausa.

Under the programme, residents will receive free tree seedlings from the government and are expected to care for them to maturity. After one year, the owner of the best-performing tree walks away with the cash prize.

The initiative is part of a broader response to a problem Lagos residents have been feeling for years: the city is getting hotter, and the government says it is running out of time to act.

Speaking at the event, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment, Olalekan Rotimi-Akodu, painted a direct picture of what unchecked urban heat means for a city of over 20 million people.

Rapid construction, traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and the replacement of green spaces with concrete have combined to create what climate scientists call the Urban Heat Island effect, where cities trap significantly more heat than surrounding areas.

For Lagos specifically, the risks go beyond discomfort. Higher temperatures affect public health, reduce productivity, worsen air quality and drive up energy demand. The city also faces compounding threats from flooding and sea-level rise, given its coastal position.

"Rapid urbanisation, population growth, traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, and the replacement of natural landscapes with concrete and asphalt surfaces are all contributing to rising temperatures," Akodu said.

Beyond the tree-planting prize, Lagos formally joined the United Nations Environment Programme's global "50 Cities at 50°C" campaign, which connects cities developing solutions to extreme urban heat. Lagos will participate under the theme "50 Cities at 50°C: Lagos Rising Against the Urban Heat Island."

The state plans to plant 500 trees across Lagos as part of the Me and My Tree launch, building on what officials say has been an ongoing urban greening effort since 2009 that has resulted in more than seven million trees planted through partnerships with schools, communities and businesses.

The government is also investing in mass transit infrastructure, rail, bus and water transportation, as part of its longer-term emissions reduction strategy.

The ₦2.5m prize competition runs for one year from the date of planting.

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