17.24 Million Trees Target as Mazingira Week Begins

Story by Evans Mutinda & Monyonge O’kebati

Kenya will target the planting of 17.24 million trees this week as the country steps up a nationwide environmental restoration campaign ahead of National Mazingira Day on Saturday.
Government Spokesperson Charles Owino said the five-day programme will bring together national and county governments, communities, schools, farmers, the private sector, civil society and development partners.
This year’s Mazingira Day will be marked on October 10 under the theme “Our Environment, Our Responsibility — Collective Action for Tree Growing and Environmental Conservation.”
Owino said the campaign is part of Kenya’s wider ambition to grow eight billion trees by 2032, urging Kenyans to make environmental conservation a personal responsibility.
The national celebrations will be hosted in Kakamega County, with presidentially led tree-growing activities targeting more than 5.4 million trees at 79 sites across 31 counties.
More than 51,000 community members are expected to participate, with about 4,940 hectares earmarked for tree growing.

The Kenya Prisons Service will plant one million trees across 68 correctional facilities, while the National Youth Service will target 1.5 million trees. The Ministry of Defence will also mobilise military units to support tree growing around their barracks.
Village elders will lead community-level activities, while schools, farmers and other institutions will participate in tree growing, clean-ups and restoration exercises.
But Environment Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa said the campaign must go beyond simply counting seedlings planted to focus on tree survival and restoration of entire ecosystems.
“We are not talking about restoration of one ecosystem. We are talking of a national landscape ecosystem restoration,” Barasa said.
She said protecting one ecosystem while neglecting another could undermine the gains made, stressing the need to restore forests, rivers, wetlands, drylands and coastal ecosystems as an interconnected system.
CS Barasa said the Government was also promoting agroforestry, aerial seeding and digital monitoring to strengthen environmental restoration, particularly in hard-to-reach areas.
She said restoration should also be viewed as an economic opportunity, with the trees planted under the programme projected to generate more than Sh162 billion for the Kenyan economy.
Owino said the week’s activities will begin Tuesday with clean-ups and tree-growing activities in educational institutions, followed by restoration activities in mining areas on Wednesday.
Thursday will feature an Aberdare Highway cleanup and drainage exercise, while Friday will be dedicated to nationwide clean-ups across all 47 counties.
Saturday’s National Mazingira Day will culminate the week-long campaign with nationwide tree-growing activities.
CS Barasa called on farmers, village elders, counties, private companies, development partners, youth and the media to support the restoration drive.
Owino,urged Kenyans to move beyond talking about environmental conservation and take practical action by planting and nurturing trees, protecting forests and water sources, cleaning public spaces and reducing pollution.
“Our environment is our responsibility,” Owino said.