On June 3rd 2017, Media and Public Relations Practitioners in Kenya teaming up with Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and launched a tree planting initiative at the Starehe Boys Centre. This initiative is aimed at conserving the environment and creating a sustainable tree planting culture that will result in 100,000 trees being planted in Nairobi County, in both public and private spaces between the 2017 and 2018 World Environment Day celebrations.

The project works towards achieving the recommended 10 per cent tree cover that is being hampered partly by the growing deforestation in Nairobi as a result of the infrastructural and real estate developments in the city.

Greening Kenya is partnering with the Kenya Forestry Service that is contributing greatly in achieving the intended target of greening Nairobi and eventually the entire country.  Greening Kenya is tailored to a Kenya’s specific drought situation and the persistent year in, year out flooding that occurs in Nairobi City.

This event was a lead up to the 2017 World Environment Day, the world’s largest celebration of the environment. On Monday June 5th, 2017 themed ‘I’m with Nature’— Greening Kenya seeks to find new and inclusive possibilities of urban tree planting in Nairobi City and seeks more partners to come on board. 

Kenya is endowed with a wide range of forest ecosystems ranging from montane rainforests, savannah woodlands; dry forests and coastal forests and mangroves. The current forest cover of 6.99% of the land area of the country is still below the constitutional requirement of 10%. These forests have high species richness and endemism, which has made the country be classified as mega diverse. They rank high as the country’s natural asset, due to their environmental, life supporting functions.                    

Courtesy: Greening Kenya Secretariat