The State Department for Correctional Services commemorated World Environment Day 2026 with a tree planting exercise at the Eldoret Main GK Prison, where more than 2,500 trees were planted.
The exercise, led by the Principal Secretary (PS), Dr. Salome Beacco included participation from students at the Eldoret GK Prison Senior School, National Government Administrative officers, as well as officers drawn from the Kenya Prisons Service and Probation and Aftercare Service.
Speaking during the exercise, Beacco said the initiative is part of ongoing efforts by the Department, to support global efforts to leverage on nature-based solutions to combat the adverse effects of climate change.
“We are emphasizing on reforestation of all our lands and here in Eldoret Prison, today being the World Environmental Day, we have planted 2,500 trees using multi-agency approach,” she said.
The PS said the Department remains committed to supporting the national goal to plant and grow 15 billion trees by 2032, as championed by President Dr. William Ruto by actively driving environmental sustainability.
She urged Kenyans to adopt reforestation and take responsibility for combating climate change, while restoring nature.
The PS said the effort should go beyond planting indigenous trees to restore ecosystems as done previously. Kenyans should also plug into food production by planting fruit trees to ensure environmental conservation translates into livelihood benefits.
Beacco noted that the Department had reclaimed swampy areas in the Eldoret Prisons land and planted an orchard of 500 avocado seedlings.
The institution plans to increase the number to over 2,000, so that students, inmates and officers at the correctional facility can benefit.
She mentioned that every single month, the Department is growing more trees across all the 135 prison stations and all 148 probation stations across the country, affirming their commitment to ensuring that the Greening Kenya initiative is successfully implemented by the state department.
“Every first Thursday, of the month we plant trees, we grow trees and we are increasing this. For example, in this region the whole land that we have in this Eldoret Lumumba farm which is over 400 acres we have planted trees along the fence, so we are making great strides in achieving our own target of plugging into the 15 billion trees because we as correctional services are very committed,” said the PS.
Dr. Beacco encouraged members of the public, government institutions and other stakeholders to consider visiting correctional services in order to access all sorts of quality tree seedlings both fruit and indigenous at low cost.
The PS also announced that the Department will donate tree and fruit seedlings to schools, hospitals, and TVETs at affordable prices.
She said they generate their own seeds and also source them from Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), to ensure quality control.
The State Department has been at the forefront in environmental conservation, engaging in large-scale tree planting and seedlings production.
The Department has dedicated the first Thursday of every month to tree planting and growing, with efforts having already resulted in planting of over 6 million trees.
The World Environment Day 2026 with the theme; Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future, highlights the urgent need to look to nature-based solutions to combat climate change, repair ecosystems, and rethink global economic systems.
By Ekuwam Sylvester and Shaline Jeruto
