National Youth Service (NYS) Western Zone Commander Enock Nyandege has appealed to learning institutions within Kakamega County to embrace the culture of nurturing tree seedlings to maturity.
Nyandege made the appeal in his Lugari office after distributing over 279,000 tree seedlings propagated by the NYS Turbo Field Unit, to 110 government primary and secondary schools within the county.
He said the effects of climate change are evident across the country hence it is the responsibility of each Kenyan regardless of their age to participate in the mitigation by planting trees.
“My advice to these institutions is that although we are giving them free tree seedlings they must take care of them. They must nurture them until they mature. Otherwise it will be an exercise in futility to plant trees and fail to take care of them,” Nyandege stated.
Nyandege disclosed that the Turbo NYS Field Unit, which he heads, has so far produced a total of 3.7 million tree seedlings in tandem with President William Ruto’s earlier directive that the NYS propagates tree seedlings.
He said: “Each unit has been given a target. We in Turbo have already done 3.7 million seedlings out of our target of 5 million. I am hoping in the coming financial year we are also going to do another 5 million tree seedlings.
“We have been planting tree seedlings around and giving out some to training institutions and neighbouring counties.”
“Other than Kakamega County, we have given out seedlings to the counties of Trans Nzoia, Vihiga, Nandi, Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet.”
On the fate of the remaining tree seedlings, Nyandege said the field unit is set to make a request to the head office seeking for permission to plant more trees in learning institutions within the county.
He said they also plan to adopt government pieces of land around the field unit including Turbo forest, Nzoia forest and any other land which is around so that they can save the seedlings which are overgrowing.
Nyandege appealed to communities within Kakamega to also propagate more tree seedlings in order for the country to meet the President’s expectation of planting 15 billion trees by 2032 in a bid to achieve 30 percent tree cover.
He revealed that the NYS Director General James Tembur has directed the field units to start propagating indigenous tree seedlings and they are taking advantage of the short rains.
By Melechezedeck Ejakait
