The Principal Secretary (PS), State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services, Dr. Belio Kipsang, has called on Kenyans to embrace tree planting in their living environment.
He urged citizens to support the National Tree Growing and Restoration Campaign, which aims to plant 15 billion trees by 2032 to increase forest cover and combat climate change.
He underscored the importance of conserving the environment and taking care of the future by planting trees around the environment in which people live.
The PS made his remarks when he led a tree planting exercise at Kapseret forest and St. George’s Girls High School, Uasin Gishu County, to mark this year’s Mazingira Day 2025 under the theme “Citizen-Centric Tree Growing and Environmental Stewardship”.
The team planted more than 5,000 tree seedlings, both indigenous and fruit trees, mainly in schools, to assist the children as part of the nutrition and food security.
He emphasised the call to all Kenyans to take active responsibility for the environment by planting trees, cleaning up schools and communities, and promoting sustainable practices.
“As we are all aware, this day was proclaimed to be a day that we shall be taking care of our future. Because when we take care of our environment, then we are taking care of our future. So we were all told that, and we all agreed, that we go back to our primary schools,” he said.
Noting that the school children are our biggest greeners and with almost 15 million of them in the basic education institutions, Dr Kipsang said, “if we leverage those numbers, then it will make it possible for us to achieve our 15 billion target that we give to ourselves within the next seven years.”
He announced that the country is on course towards that goal, currently going towards one billion trees.
Belio added that the nation is planting more than 71 million trees during this day within schools and other environments, as it marches towards the critical 15 billion mark.
The PS further acknowledged the challenges posed by the issues of climate change and the warming of the environment as evidenced by the unpredictable rainfall patterns, which are no longer the way they were 10 to 20 years ago.
“Even where we are today ourselves, the patterns of our rains are no longer what we knew 10, 15, or 20 years ago. When we would, with a lot of precision, say that in March or April, we could plant. In June, we could be able to plant wheat. By October, we would be able to harvest. But even when you look at this year, October, it was raining very early. Yet that is the time we should be harvesting,” explained the PS.
PS Belio called for sufficient afforestation to be able to manage the environment, as he emphasised that it is so important that Kenya should achieve the minimum 10 per cent or more of forest cover to ensure it is adequately safe.
He expressed his gratitude to the members of the community from around Kapseret Sub county, by turning out in numbers and fulfilling their duty in contributing to the very important journey of planting trees.
He assured the residents that they have had discussions with the local leadership, including the area MP of Kapseret, that they need a more concerted effort towards adopting Kapseret Forest and making sure that they bring in partners and friends to assist in reafforestation and, going into the future, protect it in a better way.
“So that we can be sure that the future generation – more so, given this area is growing very rapidly into an urban area – shall have green areas in the city of Eldoret just like today we have the national park in Nairobi.”
The Immigration PS expressed hope that these are some of the areas that, in the future, will form part of that ecosystem of the city that is adaptive and aligned to a green environment, especially in the schools as they plant more trees.
Others present during the event were the team from the State Department for Forestry, National Government Administrative Officers (NGAOs) led by Kapseret DCC Edong’a Nanok and others.
By Ekuwam Sylvester and Luka Kiptanui
