Kwale:Kwale County has initiated a comprehensive environmental campaign involving government agencies, private sector organizations, and community groups to promote tree planting and conservation efforts ahead of National Environment Day on October 10.
According to Kenya News Agency, the campaign was launched at Uwanja wa Manispaa ya Kwale and will feature activities such as town clean-ups, tree planting in schools, agroforestry, land restoration, and rehabilitation of degraded areas throughout the county. County Commissioner Henry Rotich emphasized the importance of this initiative due to forecasts of above-normal rainfall, attributed to the El Nino phenomenon, which presents an opportunity for effective environmental conservation.
Rotich highlighted the campaign’s kickoff with a town clean-up and symbolic tree planting, expanding to other activities throughout the week. County Forest Conservator Sailas Tsuma outlined that the activities will occur from October 5 to October 10, assigning specific environmental tasks to different stakeholders. Tree planting in schools, supported by the Kenya Forest Service, will occur on Tuesday, followed by agroforestry, and rehabilitation of mining-degraded areas on subsequent days. Town cleaning, particularly around Kombani, will take place on October 9, involving various organizations.
The main Environment Day celebrations on October 10 will feature large-scale tree planting at sites including Tsunza, Majoreni, and Vanga, with plans to plant a total of 200,000 trees. Tsuma encouraged residents to engage in tree planting beyond government-led activities to help achieve Kenya’s forest cover targets.
James Chapa of the Muslim Women Advancement of Rights and Protection (MWARP) organization urged residents to care for seedlings and emphasized the importance of conservation in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Kingstone Njeru of Plan International noted the campaign’s comprehensive approach, involving multiple government departments, private entities, students, and community groups. He stressed that environmental conservation is a collective responsibility that includes children, as recognized by the Children’s Act.
Hakim Abdalla Mwatondo, representing Samba Sports, called for active participation from young people and parents, highlighting the long-term benefits of tree planting for future generations. The activities will conclude with the national Environment Day celebrations, aiming to instill continuous community responsibility for environmental conservation in Kwale.
