A total of 3,500 indigenous tree seedlings have been planted in Kiambu's Kieni Forest and local communities asked to protect them.
The trees were planted by the Kenya Breweries Limited n Thursday.
Area Community Forest Association chairman Robert Mwangi said Plantation Establishment Livelihood Improvement Schemes has helped residents create jobs, increase food production and nutrition.
“While we cultivate and add manure and fertiliser on our food crops in the forest, we do the same on the trees planted. A few, sometimes, dry up and we plant replacements,” Mwangi said.
The tree planting session was attended by Kiambu county ecosystem conservator Paul Karanja, Kieni forest station manager Caroline Njeru and Nature Kenya local empowerment manager Joel Siele.
KBL’s sustainability manager Maryanne Nderu asked forest and environmental conservation stakeholders to help conserve trees planted by corporate entities.
Nderu said KBL has embarked on programmes that reduce environmental degradation such as adopting renewable energy sources, energy reduction initiatives and increasing energy efficiency.
“We hope these strategies will reduce forest degradation and that the community around will safeguard what we have planted," Nderu said.
Njeru said Kenya Forest service has distributed plots to the locals who are registered as CFA members to cultivate on forest land where trees had been cut.
The cultivation is done under the Pelis Programme which replaced the Shamba System. Beneficiares must plant and protect indigenous trees on their land.
“Under this program, CFA partners with the KFS to cultivate and protect seedlings planted as well as forest vegetation,” Njeru said.
Karanja said the Kieni Forest has about 250-acres that need to be planted. He urged the county government to plant more trees. Kiambu has seven forest stations.
“We plan to plant 1.2 million seedlings in all our stations within the next one year,” Karanja said.
edited by Peter Obuya
