• NGO has planted more than 100,000 trees in schools within Kiambu county in two months.
• Group projects to plant more than 10 million trees in two years.
A non-governmental organisation on Friday planted 42,000 trees in Juja subcounty in a record 35 minutes on Saturday.
Hearts of Green mobilised 43 primary schools in Juja constituency in a tree planting marathon. Pupils skipped only one lesson to plant the trees in their schools' compounds.
Group’s chairman Moses Muya said using schoolchildren to plant trees is an effective approach in ensuring the country achieves the envisaged 10 per cent cover by 2028.
Speaking after the exercise at Kuraiha Primary School in Witeithie ward, Muya said for the past two months, the group has planted more than 100,000 trees in schools within Kiambu county. They are projecting to plant 10 million trees in schools in Mt Kenya region in the next two years.
“Climate change is real and it’s here with us. Therefore, we must devise all means to address it. Hearts of Green wants to ensure every schoolchild in the country adopts a tree. We believe in some years we will have significantly contributed towards improving our country’s forest cover,” Muya said.
They will roll out the marathons in other subcounties within Nyeri, Murang’a, Nakuru, Nyandarua, Kirinyaga and Laikipia counties, the chairman said.
Muya also said the group is advocating for planting of fruit-bearing trees to contribute towards the country’s food security.
“We are urging the schools’ administrations to ensure the trees are well nurtured and watered for smooth growth. The trees will come with a lot of benefits for our children and the country at large,” he said.
The group has received support from the Kenya Water Towers Agency which has joined in their tree planting drive.
The agency’s director in charge of governance and coordination Thomas Mumo said if the approach by Hearts of Green is replicated in all parts of the country, the nation will achieve the 10 per cent forest cover before the anticipated time.
He said the NGO’s approach is in line with the Environment ministry’s national strategy of bringing on board all players like schools and communities in tree planting to conserve the environment.
“The approach is similar to ours whereby we use communities in the water towers to rehabilitate them through tree planting and protection of the river lines. This is one of the best approaches and of great help to our country,” Mumo said.
The agency has already planted 206,000 trees on 226 hectares in water catchment areas.
Edited by R.Wamochie