Editor's Review

“When we plant trees, we are not only making our environment beautiful but we are contributing to the well-being of future generations," Governor Waiguru.

Governor Anne Waiguru now says that Kirinyaga County will plant and grow at least six million trees in five years towards the 15 billion trees initiative. 

Speaking on Monday, November 13, during a tree planting exercise at Thiba Dam to mark the National Tree Growing Day, Governor Waiguru noted that the county aimed to achieve its goal by the end of her tenure by planting at least 1.5 million trees annually.

She disclosed that the county has in the last year planted 1.3 trees with 19,000 trees being planted today through the National Growing Day initiative.

“When we plant trees, we are not only making our environment beautiful but we are contributing to the well-being of future generations since trees are an essential part of the ecosystem as they provide humanity with oxygen, food, shelter, and medicine,” remarked Waiguru. 

She added," Trees are at the core of mitigating the effects of climate change since they are the ultimate carbon storage machines that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. They also help in the reduction of air pollution and land degradation and provide habitats for our wildlife." 

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Governor Waiguru participates in planting a tree at Thiba Dam in Kirinyaga County. 

She said that her county will be taking advantage of the ongoing rains to plant trees in public spaces such as forests, schools, health facilities, polytechnics, the Sagana Industrial Park, riparian lands, and individual farms.

The Council of Governors (COG) chair pointed out that Kirinyaga has not been spared from the adverse impact of climate change, manifesting in extreme weather patterns such as excess rainfall and drought, and as such the County Government is implementing a comprehensive Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLoCCA) Program that mainstreams climate action and community resilience in development projects and programs.

The governor also urged the county residents to download the Jaza Miti mobile phone application on their smartphones to enable them to track and monitor their contribution towards the effort of increasing the forest cover.

The app enables one to capture the location, type, and number of trees planted.

Waiguru was joined by Joseph Busiega, Chief of Staff, Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary, Kirinyaga County Commissioner, Nayioma Tobiko, and Kenya Seed Company Limited Board Chair Wangui Ngirici among others.