Sierra Leone Telegraph: 02 March 2026:
Mayor of Freetown – Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr last Wednesday presented certificates and prize cheques of NLe 10,000 each to the three winning teams for the Freetown Urban Greening Competition aimed at introducing more greenery into Freetown’s Central Business District.
Team T&B’s (Murad Taqi & Nyakeh Baio) design largely featured a beautiful green corridor improving public space around St George’s Cathedral.
Team Resilience (Samuel L Koroma & Mackie Peters) presented an amazing concept for the capital’s iconic Cotton Tree, featuring a metal framework that mirrors its canopy and is wrapped with creeping plants to symbolise regeneration.
Team ArchSpace (Edward Carew, Deema Joyfui Lebbie & Yusif Sesay) proposed the total transformation of building facades, including the Africell office on Siaka Stevens Street, into vertical garden walls.
Aki-Sawyerr said: “I was truly inspired by the creativity and innovation of all the contestants and we are committed to working with them to implement the best elements of their designs in our city, including the Cotton Tree design.”
The competition comes at a critical time as Freetown’s existing greenery faces continual pressure including the recent loss of a row of long established trees on George Street.
The Urban Greening Competition forms part of the broader Central Business District regeneration agenda under the Freetown–Zurich City-to-City Cooperation which is being implemented by Freetown City Council in collaboration with UN Habitat, GOAL SL, SLRA and SLRSA.
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