Government officials, hundreds of young people and environmental conservationists in Ngong joined hands to plant trees at Turaco Camp in Oloolua Forest, Kajiado County, to mark Mazingira Day.
Kajiado County Commissioner Michael Yator said the government, in collaboration with environmental conservation groups, had organized tree-planting activities in schools and major government institutions across the county.
He urged residents to take advantage of the expected El Niño rains to plant trees and called on communities to work together to protect forests from encroachment.
Yator said plans were underway, through the State Department for Irrigation, to fence off parts of Oloolua Forest to enhance its protection.
Oloolua Ward Member of County Assembly Eli Gor called on conservation groups and other stakeholders to focus on nurturing planted trees to ensure their survival, rather than concentrating on planting alone.
“If we plant the trees today and leave, the trees will dry,” he said, urging stakeholders to organize regular activities to water and maintain the seedlings.
Gor also called on the national government to revive the Kazi Mtaani programme to support environmental conservation through activities such as seedling production, tree planting and forest maintenance.
Green Generation Initiative Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Wathuti, whose organization partnered in the event themed Conservation is Fun, urged young people to embrace environmental conservation as a continuous responsibility.
She encouraged the youth to take pride in restoring nature and mobilize
more people to participate in tree planting and other conservation activities.
Valentine Naserian, a beekeeper in Ngong, said the health of forests was closely linked to her business, noting that bees played an important role in sustaining ecosystems.
“If we are celebrating the environment, we also need to celebrate bees for what they do in the sustainability of the whole environmental ecosystem,” she said.
Members of the Oloolua Forest Youth Guardians, who had spent weeks preparing the planting sites, led the exercise and demonstrated proper tree-planting techniques while educating participants on the importance of forest ecosystems.
Group leader Lucas Sande said the turnout demonstrated growing youth interest in environmental restoration.
“We have been able to bring more young people and the community to come and do tree planting, connect with nature and do restoration here in Oloolua Forest, where there is a lot of land degradation from retired mining sites, some deforested areas and even littering that needs us to take action to restore our forest,” he said.
Kenya Forest Service officer Beatrice Mwaka said the participation of young people was encouraging as the country pursued its target of planting 15 billion trees by 2032 to increase forest cover to more than 30 per cent.
“I am happy that the narrative is changing; the young energy is here, and the youth are participating in the tree planting agenda,” she said.
Mazingira Day is observed annually on October 10 to promote environmental conservation and tree planting. The date was previously known as Moi Day before changes to the public holiday calendar following the 2010 Constitution. It was later observed as Huduma Day in 2019 and Utamaduni Day in 2020 before legislation established Mazingira Day in 2024.
by Byron Ouma
