Over 23,000 tree seedlings will be planted in Isiolo County to improve environment and forest coverage to 10 percent by 2022.
Equity Bank, Isiolo branch Manager James Huka said that the bank is keen on improving the environment by reinvesting the small interest it earns to communities by generously sponsoring local children’s education, planting trees and currently providing PPE kits to public hospitals.
Mr Huka who yesterday led the Bank staff, Kenya Prison fraternity including the inmates in planting 5,000 seedlings at GK Prison farm in Isiolo Central division said that his branch would provide more to Isiolo Girls Secondary School, Barracks Mixed Secondary, Waso Girls and two KDF Army camps before the end of the month.
The manager said that Equity bank had backed the government plans to increase forest coverage from 7 to 10 percent by 2022 which can be achieved successfully if every Kenyan can plant 5 to 10 trees at the residential places or in all the institutions.
He added that his bank would provide all public institutions that would take care of trees and some seedlings and challenged residents of Isiolo County to plant trees to stop desertification which had affected pastoral communities seriously.
Speaking during the occasion, Isiolo County GK prison Commander Eustace Wairagu said that his staff and inmates would make sure that 75 percent of the planted tree would survive.
Mr Wairagu added that the farm which is next to Isiolo open market had challenges since most of the trees planted there previously were destroyed by animals from the neighbourhood saying that firm action would now be taken against them.
Isiolo forest conservator Geoffrey Mwaura said that plans are underway to ensure that 1.3 million trees are to be planted so as to reach the target of 10 percent forest coverage in Kenya.
Mwaura Isiolo has no gazetted forest and local trees are at risk due to charcoal burning and cutting of trees to fence livestock bomas.
By Abduba Mamo
