The Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) Homa Bay County on Monday planted 600 trees at Homa Bay police station as a long term measure to fight the effects of climate change.
The Secretary, Nuhu Masoud urged the locals to embrace a tree planting culture saying that it is the only way to curb the effects of climate change.
He stressed that the importance of trees goes beyond the aspect of climate change as they have numerous other benefits that are both tangible and intangible.
“These trees will not only benefit us in climate change mitigation but also earn us income when sold as timber. Trees are also used as medicine, while others can be fruit trees. That is how important trees are,” reiterated Masoud.
The secretary called on President William Ruto to lead the residents in a tree planting exercise when he visits the area saying this will encourage Kenyans to plant even more trees without being coerced to do so.
“The president should lead by example by planting trees when he visits the county,” said Masoud.
He further urged other religious leaders to take an initiative of educating the faithful on benefits of planting trees.
Homa Bay Sub-County Police Commander Sammy Kosgei, who thanked the SUPKEM community for the provision of tree seedlings, encouraged the residents to plant more trees.
“We are planting trees in response to the President’s call when he urged the people of Kenya to plant trees in order to achieve the 10 per cent forest coverage target. We have started by setting an example and I hope the residents will follow suit,” noted Kosgei.
Earlier, Masoud had given out 400 tree seedlings to members of the Homa Bay taxi Association to plant at their homesteads.
Masoud revealed that the SUPKEM Homa Bay branch has set a target of planting three thousand trees by the end of this year.
By Otieno Angela and Sitna Omar
