About 350 tree seedlings donated by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) were on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, planted at Ndumoni Primary School in Kitui Central District in Kitui County.
Among the planted trees are various tree species, including the Olea Africana, Tamarindus indica, Croton megalocarpus, and Senna siamea.
NEMA Kitui County Director Stephen Oras Muriithi was the chief guest at the event, accompanied by his deputy Naftaly Osoro.
Speaking to the pupils, parents and teachers after the planting exercise, Muriithi said that NEMA has planted numerous trees in schools and along the rivers in Kitui County to mark this year’s (the 50th) World Environment Day.
“We also had a cleanup exercise of the Kalundu market in Kitui Town to mark the day,” Muriithi said.
‘Only One Earth’ was the theme of this year’s event.
This year’s event was celebrated in Sweden, where the UN started the World Environment Day in 1972,” the NEMA official said.
He informed the participants that World Environment Day is globally marked on June 5.
The expert said the trees are essential for releasing clean oxygen for human breathing.
“A mature tree can provide some clean oxygen for breathing to eight people daily,” he said.
“The oxygen has many uses. It is also used for medical treatment in hospitals. And the oxygen is some 20 percent in the air,” Muriithi added.
“So I am asking you to plant trees wherever you go for better environmental protection,” the environmentalist added.
Muriithi said that global warming would continue to rise if people won’t remain responsible for conserving the environment.
The Kitui Forest Station Conservator Stanley Marioko said that they had come to educate the audience about tree planting and the different tree species.
The forester educated the gathering about various tree species.
He said the Olea Africana is an indigenous tree with many benefits.
“It is good for charcoal and it has some medicinal value,” the KFS official said.
Marioko said that the Tamarindus indica is a drought-resistant tree and “It has some good fruits and some medicinal value.
“It is only found in Kitui,” the expert said.
The Assistant County Forest Conservator, Charles Kavithi, who represented the County Forest Conservator Monica Masibo, also addressed the gathering.
Kavithi disclosed that as KFS, they planted 1,000 trees at the Mwaani Primary School in Kisasi District in Kitui County recently.
The KFS official said KFS will plant more trees in all the schools with sufficient water in Kitui County for environmental conservation purposes.
“We in the KFS say that the tree’s 70 percent survival is okay,” the expert said.
Kavithi said Kitui County’s forest cover currently stands at about 8 percent.
“Kenya’s forest cover currently stands at 12.3 per cent. And our country’s target is 30 percent by 2050,” he said.
He fervently thanked the Ndumoni Primary School head teacher, Mrs. Gladys Boniface, “For requesting for some tree seedlings from our office to be planted in her school.”
Kavithi said that as KFS, they supply the tree seedlings for planting to all the schools that request for them from their office.
In her speech, the Ndumoni Primary School head-teacher said that she was grateful for having the wonderful visitors in the school.
She assured the KFS and the NEMA that they will take care of the trees as a school and the surrounding community.
“We have a dream of changing our school environment through tree planting,” she said.
She disclosed that the Ndumoni Primary School currently has 348 pupils-180 boys and 168 girls, with sixteen teachers- fourteen females and two males.
The area (Kyangwithya) Zonal Curriculum Support Officer (CSO) Damaris Musyoka and the area (Ndumoni) Assistant Chief Gabriel Wambua also addressed the event, among others.
The Assistant Chief thanked the NEMA and the KFS for coming to plant trees in the school.
