Let's talk about trees baby!
- Tuko Green Movement
- Aug 1, 2018
- 4 min read
It has come to my attention that my presence had been missed; not to worry guys, I didn’t forget about you. This is what had happened… I am currently taking a unit called “wake me up when September ends”… Haha! Just kidding! It’s called Community Health and let’s just say it makes my eyes struggle for dear life to stay open just like any C.R.E (Christian Religious Education) lesson in high school or Chemistry for some. That laziness was therefore transferred across almost all sectors of my life, but I’m back now. You can put down those phones, no need to send help!
World Environment Day
As we all know, or at least those of us who are on any social media platform, June 5th was World Environment Day. Better yet, some countries celebrate the entire month of June as the ‘World Environment Month’. In that very spirit, many companies in Kenya adopted the same approach. I saw so many posters, campaigns and adverts on tree planting; so naturally I got involved in some of the campaigns. There is this really cool little conservation organisation called 'Miti Alliance' that I joined recently and their vision is to make Kenya green for a better future. Their simple approach is to plant as many trees as possible, that is anywhere and everywhere that they can thrive.
Tree Planting
On 9th June, we, as Miti Alliance in partnership with Citi Group, a couple of other companies and schools went to Kereita Forest (no, not for zip lining... I know! I know! That's what most of you were thinking!) to plant trees. We had set out to plant about 5,000 trees of different indigenous and exotic species such as Meru oak, Eucalyptus, Cedar, Cypress and Pine just to name a few. (I’m sure you've heard of a couple of these from those old Colgate herbal ads that were shown an average of 10 times per day when we, or at least when I, was younger.) Moving on swiftly... first things first, no one informed me what a task tree planting is! Honestly, the amount of trekking we did to get the seedlings to the planting site was insane! Even my phone's pedometer let me know that I outdid myself. I had done enough exercise to cover the next two months. Moreover, to make it worse, the area was so hilly that I felt like I had almost forgotten what it was like to walk on flat land. It was just up and down,up and down, across a river, some more up and down, you get the point. Oh! And don’t forget the seedlings that I was carrying oh so faithfully! On to the other struggle that I was not prepared for...the cold. Father Lord! My lungs were frozen! I’m almost certain that we were breathing in liquid oxygen because that temperature was low enough to condense it. Clearly, by now you can tell that I don’t thrive in the cold despite being a July baby. Oh the irony! (P.S: if ever you want to take me on holiday, you know where NOT to take me.)
What Next?
The total percentage of forest cover in Kenya is just 6.9% and our target is to get to 15% by 2022, which is not too far away. (Sidebar: I’m sure you and I both would say this a lot, “OMG! 2018? That’s so far in the future!” See yourself now, you’re still living in your mother’s house with no prospects of moving out… or is it just me? No, it can’t just be me feeling like this.) On a more serious note, we all as citizens of this beautiful country need to take it upon ourselves to plant at least 100 trees per person a year. Relax! Don't discredit yourself just yet. Let me break it down if it sounded like I was being too ambitious. If you plant at least 1 to 5 seedlings a month that translates to around 20 to 60 trees in a year. That’s not too much to ask for, right?! In case you are wondering where to start, there are very many tree planting campaigns all over social media and if that doesn't work out we can always organize some on our own. We can indulge ourselves in so many ways such as simply planting some trees in our backyards, driveways or neighbourhoods. And in some of these neighbourhoods, there are already loads of vendors selling seedlings. To make it more worthwhile, you can plant fruit trees so that you and the future generations can reap the benefits. (I know in this country, "lazima tukule" or "we must eat" is one of the biggest driving forces of motivation.) Examples of great fruit trees to plant are such as orange, lemon, guava, pomegranate, loquats and of course our very own "Her Excellency, Avocado."
As I end this short article, I would like to remind you that the trees that provide shade for you as you walk on the streets of Nairobi were planted by someone who was thinking of your future. From now on, let’s think of a better and greener future for someone else. (Note: I didn’t mention “your children” because I know with this economy, that may not be in some people's plans.) We can and we will do this by planting trees and not letting their "kisogos" burn in this malicious African sun: let’s bring the shade home!
Written by: Hope Simiyu and Curated by: Wandia Kimani
Article adopted from: https://confessionsofafreakgoinggreen.wordpress.com/
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