More than 200,000 tree seedlings were planted across Embu County on Saturday as the government and conservation partners intensified efforts to increase forest cover and combat climate change.
The exercise was led by Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku at Jeremiah Nyaga Polytechnic in Mbeere South, where 20,000 seedlings were planted as part of the county-wide environmental conservation campaign.
Ruku urged residents to support the national tree-growing initiative, saying collective efforts were essential to achieving the country’s ambitious target of planting 15 billion trees by 2032.
He said 2.2 billion trees had so far been planted towards the national target, calling on Kenyans to embrace tree growing and environmental conservation as a shared responsibility.
The Mazingira Day exercise extended to several ecological and institutional sites across Embu, with Mwea National Game Reserve accounting for 100,000 seedlings and Mugoya Regional Police Headquarters receiving 50,000.
Another 30,000 seedlings were planted within Irangi Forest and the adjacent Nyayo Tea Zone to strengthen reforestation efforts and support the restoration of degraded landscapes.
County Forest Conservator Elizabeth Muthoni said Embu had achieved a tree cover of 29.2 per cent, significantly above the national average of 12.13 per cent.
She noted that the county’s tree cover demonstrated the importance of sustained conservation initiatives, with continued planting and protection of existing forests remaining critical to environmental sustainability.
Meanwhile, Vera Murugi of the Mount Kenya Landscape Sustainable Board, under the Rainforest Alliance, said the organisation was targeting the planting of 5.8 million trees across the Mount Kenya landscape by 2029.
The target forms part of broader efforts to restore the Mount Kenya ecosystem, protect water catchment areas and strengthen the resilience of communities that depend on the region’s natural resources.
The Mazingira Day activities brought together government officials and conservation stakeholders in a renewed push to promote tree growing, restore degraded ecosystems and encourage communities to take a more active role in protecting the environment.
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