30 Senators To Meet In Machakos In A Bid To Increase Forest Cover In Counties

Over 30 senators are set to be hosted by 400 pupils in Machakos County as part of ‘Meforest Initiative’s Tree Nurseries Set up Program’ in schools.

Meforest Initiative is a national youth initiative aimed at economically empowering the youth, women and persons living with disability, through environmental conservation, climate change mitigation and talent development.

As the country places its focus towards restoring 10 per cent forest-cover with a targeted 1.8 billion trees by 2022, Meforest Initiative has partnered with Kenya Forestry Research Institute in fueling this ambitious drive. Schools being the central convergence points of societies in general, the initiative has partnered with Ministry of Education, to use the schools as incubation hubs for tree nurseries, while in turn inculcating a ‘green culture’ in the school going children.

In piloting the initiative in Machakos County, Meforest has organized ‘The Machakos Senator’s Round table’ through a CEO’s luncheon at Maanzoni Lodge on October 19, to get various parastatals, corporate entities and other development partners to adopt various school nurseries in the county.

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The rollout of the initiative in county schools will see the registration of ‘Green Ambassadors’ who are youth caretakers of the nurseries, as well as introduction of Meforest Club in the schools, to the ambassadors at primary school level.

“We target to have over 10 Million pupils adopt a tree each in Kenya in the next two years through the initiative, to bolster a new crop of green conscious generations,” says the Meforest CEO Mr Harrison Wachira.

“The country is desertifying at an alarming rate and achieving the 10% targeted forest cover is easier said than done, and it requires rich synergies and strategic partnerships in laying out simple but workable solutions from all country players, organizations and leaders. Together we can achieve the green agenda!” reads a statement from MeForest