356, 000 trees were on Monday planted in Machakos County during the National Tree Growing Day.
This is according to Machakos County Commissioner Josephine Ouko.
Ouko thanked residents from all the nine sub-counties alongside local leaders, National Government Administration Officers, departmental heads, security agencies, parastatals, Government officials from Nairobi headquarters, cooperates and the general public for joining hands in planting the trees.
She said said as a county and national government, they were committed to contributing to President William Ruto’s call of planting 15 billion trees by the year 2032.
She spoke to the Star by phone on Tuesday.
She said out of the 356,000 seedlings, 22,000 were planted in Kalama, 48,036 in Machakos, 20,000 in Matungulu, 106,000 Yatta, 32,871 Mwala, 12, 800 Kathiani, 20,000 in Athi River, 74,600 Masinga, and 19, 772 in Kangundo sub-counties.
The administrator hosted government officials from Nairobi during the county’s Tree Growing Day event conducted in Muumandu forest, Kalama Sub County.
She said other than at the county level, the exercise was conducted in all the nine sub-counties in Machakos presided by respective deputy county commissioners, and divisions overseen by assistant county commissioners, while chiefs and their assistants led the same in their locations and sub-locations.
Ouko urged the residents to make it a routine to plant trees in their homes, gardens and neighbourhoods.
She sensitized the locals on the importance of trees and the need to plant them.
“Each person in this meeting is to be issued with ten to twenty trees for free to plant in their homes. What we want is trees to be planted,” Ouko said.
She directed area security agencies to offer security to the residents as they take the trees donated to them by the government.
Ouko issued the directives after the locals participated in the tree-planting exercise in the public forest.
She said the public shouldn't just plant but grow trees.
“Trees are wealth, if we plant and grow trees, money will come,” Ouko said.
Ouko said farmers from dry parts of the county should be provided with Epsom salt to help them grow both trees and crops thereby improving food production hence eliminating poverty and hunger.
“When the government is bringing the subsidized fertilizer, let them also consider providing the locals, especially from dry areas like Masinga and Kalama with Epsom salt. If we plant trees with little water, it will help retain water,” Ouko said.
