Nakuru National Park Warden Carolyne Mwabea has rallied communities around the park to grow more trees to minimize siltation into Lake Nakuru.
Mwabea noted with concern the heavy siltation that continued to be witnessed at Lake Nakuru noting that environmental degradation had worsened the situation.
Citing the recent flooding that washed away some of the trees that were recently planted on the shores of the lake, Mwabea said efforts were being made to restore the trees, in a bid to minimize siltation that had seen the water levels at the lake rise.
“The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has drawn programmes to sensitize the school children and youth to rally them behind tree growing. We have to work with communities so that we can achieve our mandate to instill the tree growing discipline in our children as we make conservation effort in our environment,” noted Mwabea.
Also speaking at Kimathi Primary School that boarders the park, where more than 200 trees were planted to mark the World Environment Week, NCBA Group Managing Director John Gachora noted that the Bank was committed to changing the story for the children at the school and beyond through environmental conservation.
“NCBA is committed to working with partners like Baboon Kenya and others and we believe that we have a role to play in assisting the government reach its targets of 15 billion trees. We as NCBA have committed to plant 10 million trees by 2030,” added Gachora rallying the school community to back the bank’s efforts.
Baboon Kenya Founder and Director, Simon Gichuhi, said greening of schools was the organizations main agenda, calling on the communities to conserve trees as a way of minimizing drought that was threat to livelihoods and the wild animals.
“Nakuru has recently witnessed frequent drought and this calls for interventions. We have rehabilitated three boreholes and we have built a 5km piping infrastructure from a spring on Lions Hill to provide water for wildlife to quench their thirst during dry seasons,” Gichuhi added.
By Anne Sabuni
