Milestone for national tree planting initiative as 37 million trees planted.

KNA by Chris Mahandara

The National Tree Planting Initiative has registered tremendous progress in Kisumu, Siaya and Bungoma counties with some 37 million trees planted since its inception.

Through support from the National Youth Service (NYS), the Ministry of Public Service and Human Capital Development which spearheads the initiative in the three counties targets to plant 500 million trees in the area by the year 2032.

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi said the progress made since the inception of the programme was encouraging, urging the community and all stakeholders to double their efforts to help reach the target.

Speaking at Maseno School in Kisumu County during a tree planting drive to mark Mazingira Day, Muturi said climate change is a reality, adding that every effort must be made to green the country to weather the adverse effects of the phenomenon.

The CS, who was joined by 1,000 students at the school to plant 2,000 trees, underscored the importance of roping in learning institutions to achieve the national target of planting 15 billion trees by the end of the initiative in the year 2032.

 He challenged the learners to watch over the trees and ensure they grow to help the country build resilience and counter the effects of climate change being felt across the globe.

"As the Ministry we are happy with the progress made so far. I want to assure the community in this part of the country that we will continue to partner with them to ensure that this initiative succeeds," he said.

 The CS asked members of the community to play an active role and ensure that they plant at least five trees before the end of the day and at the same time inculcate the culture of environmental conservation amongst the youth.

Public Service and Human Capital Development Principal Secretary (PS) Amos Gathecha said through partnership with NYS, each county has received 50, 000 free seedlings for planting since the inception of the initiative.

The NYS, he added, will continue to produce seedlings and actively engage in the tree planting initiative to ensure that the target set by President Dr William Ruto is realised.

“We are on course to deliver this target. We are doing well but we need to redouble our efforts because time is not on our side,” Gathecha said.

Maseno School Principal Peter Owino said marking the day at the school was a big milestone towards the school's greening initiative.

The exercise carried out by Form-One students, he said, was deliberate since they still have time at the school to ensure that the trees grow.