Gatundu North sub-county environment and health officer Beatrice Mueni has urged residents to be more proactive in ensuring trees planted during the ongoing rainy season survive to help in conservation efforts.
Mueni was speaking at Kamwangi tree farm on Thursday where she led scouts from Kamwangi High School to plant 1,000 tree seedlings.
“Climate change is often due to cutting down of trees without enough efforts of replacing them,’ she said.
“This area has a lot of commercial tree seedlings but residents are yet to take advantage of the economic development opportunity and the ongoing rains at their disposal,” she noted.
Mueni encouraged residents to buy seedlings and plant them in a manner that will ensure their growth.
“There is money in tree farming, it’s the cheapest way of farming and making big money without boredom and fatigue,” she emphasized.
The officer encouraged the scouts to continue with their campaign against cutting trees without replacement, saying it was the only way to conserve the environment and remember the efforts of the late Nobel laureate Wangari Mathai.
“Scouts have been very serious with their cut and replace tree campaign and I would like to recognise the fact that they are young but showing exemplary environment conservation measures. Keep on young nation and speak about tree plantation wherever you go,” she added.
“This is a Gatundu North scouts association programme that is facilitated by both high and primary school scouts who have a motive to enlighten residents to conserve their environment through tree planting,” Jacob Mambo, the scouts leader in the area said.