There is a need to incorporate learners in tree planting as a way of mitigating the effects of climate change alongside food and nutrition promotion through fruit trees.
This is according to some teachers from four primary schools in Machakos, Makueni, and Kitui counties.
The schools are Nthilani Primary in Kitui, Ndalani and Itumbule Primary Schools in Makueni and Muusini Primary School in Machakos county.
They said involving children in planting trees in schools will enable them to have skills in environmental conservation, especially in arid and semi-arid areas.
The teachers said even though most areas of the stated Ukambani counties are arid and semi–arid, they were committed to ensuring environmental conservation alongside planting trees to support President Ruto’s ambitious project of growing 15 billion trees by 2032.
“The major challenge we face in our tree planting and environmental conservation efforts is water shortage due to unreliable rainfall. Unavailability of water has made the tree planting project expensive since we are at times forced to buy the important commodity,” said Bithathi, a teacher at Itumbule Primary School.
They addressed the press during a stakeholders meeting which involved teachers, pupils, county government officials, Ministry of Education representatives, Civil Society Organizations and Inades Formation Kenya officials in Machakos County on Friday.
The meeting organized by Inades Formation Kenya was intended to get feedback and discuss a report on the progress on how learners contribute in environmental conservation through tree planting exercises in their respective schools.
Bithathi said they had seen lots of positivity in the tree planting exercise introduced to them by Inades Formation Kenya as a pilot project.
They have already started eating fruits from the trees planted a year ago. “Other than planting hundreds of trees in our school, 200 learners were also issued with a tree seedling each to plant in their respective homes. The trees are growing well,” Bithathi said.
Francis Mutunga, a teacher at Ndalani Comprehensive School in Makueni County, said they had in the past been planting trees that withered, but after they got training from Inades Formation Kenya, all the trees they plant grow well.
“Today, we are here to meet other teachers and pupils for an interactive session. Inades Formation Kenya donated tree seedlings to our school, which we planted, each learner planted a tree and took some to their respective homes as well,” Mutunga said.
Mutunga said parents had also planted trees donated by the organisation, thereby contributing to the climate change mitigation efforts.
“Before the organization came, there were lots of challenges, we planted trees which dried up due to lack of information. Now, Ndalani is greener. Inades donated a water tank to the school and pupils established a tree nursery,” Mutunga said.
He said the school had so far grown 678 trees in its compound and garden, including fruit trees like pawpaw.
Inades Formation Kenya managing director Joseph Munyoki said more than 8, 000 trees had been planted in the four schools in the last year.
“This is a one-year pilot project on experiences of environmental regeneration through the approach of ‘one child, one tree. These experiences are borrowed from our sister organization and network member, Inades DRC Congo,” Munyoki said.
“Today, we were reflecting together with stakeholders on various things that the pilot project was able to achieve; issues around sensitisation of young generation on matters environmental conservation as well as experiences that they were able to share and learn at school level,” Munyoki said.
Munyoki said their goal was to increase awareness on climate change and support young generations to understand the importance of environmental conservation and be able to share the experiences with pupils from other schools.
He said they had trained several pupils in schools with the support of their teachers.
“Pupils were able to understand what we trained them on and practice in school. Our interest was also to set up green zones within the schools. This is in line with the national focus that the president had challenged every individual in this country through the 15 billion tree planting campaign intended to increase vegetation cover in the nation,” he said.
Munyoki said climate change is real hence Kenyans should know that their action or inaction will impact on the current and future generations.
“It’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure that things that hurt our environment are taken away from us or reduced. That’s why in every intervention we do, especially on food production, we say produce without destruction,” Munyoki said.