1,000 trees planted in Nation’s green drive

The Nation Media Group took its tree-planting campaign to Kakamega Forest at the weekend.

Its workers planted more than 1,000 indigenous tree seedlings on two hectares of land in the forest with the help of Provincial Administration officials, students and wananchi from Virembe village.

Nation’s corporate communications officer Sammy Mbau and the Nyanza and Western provincial news editor Patrick Mayoyo led the staff in the drive.
Provinces

The campaign seeks to plant tree seedlings in eight forests in eight provinces in eight weeks. Nyanza, Eastern, Central, Coast, North Eastern and Western provinces have been covered.

Kakamega East acting district commissioner Kimutai Ng’eny presided over the tree-planting ceremony at the weekend.

Mr Ng’eny said community forest associations had been formed to work closely with the Kenya Forest Service to help conserve Kakamega Forest, the only surviving vestige of the tropical Congo forest in the country.

He said the partnership between the community and forest authorities had helped minimise cases of illegal logging and charcoal burning, which contributed to the destruction of the forest cover.

“I have given clear instructions to all the chiefs to work around the clock with communities and ensure no destruction of the forest is allowed in any part of the district,” said Mr Ng’eny.

The conflict between forest guards and villagers had been minimised after communities living on the fringes of the forest were allowed to collect firewood for domestic use and graze their livestock in parts of the forest with mature trees at a fee.

Mr Mbau said the tree planting would become an annual event and the firm would make every effort to educate communities on the need to conserve forests.

Assistant district forest officer Alice Ingutia commended the Nation for taking the initiative to spearhead the campaign to conserve the country’s endangered forests.