The Uasin Gishu County Executive in charge of Environment and Natural Resources Mary Njogu on Sunday joined the Hindu Community from Shree Swaminarayan Temple, Eldoret in planting more than 23,000 tree seedlings in Timboroa Forest.
Speaking after the tree planting exercise, Njogu thanked the community for their wise thought of joining Kenyans from all walks of life in planting trees during this rainy season.
She also commended the community for involving the youth in the exercise.
The County Executive added that the Uasin Gishu County Government envisions to attain a 15 percent tree cover by the year 2022 calling for more such partnerships with other organizations.
Njogu also reminded residents that water levels were reduced in our rivers due to deforestation and encroachment, calling upon the Community Forest Association (CFA) to guard forests within their jurisdiction zealously since "it is our third source of livelihood."
On the safety of dams in the county, the CeC said that the Governor Jackson Mandago-led administration has done an assessment of dams and are working on five dams that are regarded to pose a high risk to the locals.
Shree Swaminarayan Temple leader Kanti Rabadia said that the community will continue working Uasin Gishu County Government in planting more trees to increase forest cover in the region.
Kanti further said that the community will put into their calendar a tree planting exercise going forward to ensure that the community gets more involved in environmental conservation.
“The Asian community thanks County Government of Uasin Gishu and Kenya Forest Service for giving us an opportunity to be part of all Kenyans in planting trees,” said the Hindu leader.
They asked the Kenya Forest Service to ensure that the tree seedlings they planted today in Timboroa forest survive and thrive promising to regularly visit the site to check on the progress.