Schools’ Green Initiative Challenge (GIC)
As of 2021, Kenya’s forest cover stands at 8.83%, below the 10% target set by the country’s 2010 Constitution. The distribution of forest cover is uneven, with the central, western, and coastal regions having the most forest. Under Kenya’s Vision 2030, the social pillar aims to provide citizens with a clean, secure, and sustainable environment. To achieve this, the nation has set goals, including increasing forest cover to 10% by 2030.
To meet these goals, the government, through the 2019 National Strategy for achieving and maintaining over 10% tree cover by 2022, committed to restoring 5.1 million hectares of degraded landscapes and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the forest sector by 50% by 2030. Despite Kenya’s negligible global GHG emissions of less than 0.1%, climate change impacts have resulted in socio-economic losses estimated at 3-5% of the GDP annually. This poses a major threat to the livelihoods of many Kenyans and hinders the realization of Vision 2030.
KenGen’s goal of providing clean and affordable renewable energy is vital to this vision. This project aims to implement interventions that will increase forest cover in Kenya towards achieving the 10% national target. The pressure on remaining forests and trees is high due to the significant proportion of people dependent on them for firewood and non-timber products.
Project Description
The Schools’ Green Initiative Challenge (GIC) is an award-winning, innovative, and participatory program designed to empower school children to tackle climate change by growing trees. This 10-year program, implemented in phases of two years since 2013, addresses the needs of schools by providing wood fuel and economic empowerment through planting and adopting multipurpose trees. These trees offer firewood, fruits, and contribute to food security through intercropping, aiming to halt and reverse the trend of forest loss and environmental degradation by promoting tree growing and agro-forestry systems.
Project Objectives
Main Objectives:
- Promote schoolchildren’s awareness and participation in climate change mitigation through environmental conservation, including sustainable tree management and harvesting.
- Contribute to the national school feeding program by encouraging the growth of fruit trees and intercropping.
- Provide schools with renewable sources of wood fuel, reducing pressure on surrounding forest resources.
- Diversify income by selling timber, non-timber products, and fruits.
- Reduce greenhouse gases through carbon sequestration by growing trees.
- Control soil erosion by increasing topsoil infiltration and reducing runoff.
Specific Objectives:
Encourage community members to establish ‘household woodlots’ and train them on sustainable rainwater harvesting and storage techniques.
Community Needs Assessment and Expected Changes
Expected Outcomes:
- Enable schools to engage in tree growing for income generation, helping them meet educational needs.
- Promote awareness among learners of the value and importance of planting trees for various purposes, including how to raise and tend tree seedlings and integrate trees into farming systems.
- Enhance capacity through awareness and training workshops, information dissemination, and extension services through monitoring and evaluation.
- Mobilize and assist project beneficiaries to organize into 4K clubs and community associations to manage and sustain project activities.
Project Activities:
- Facilitate access to tree seedlings, including fruit tree seedlings.
- Promote environmental consciousness among pupils and teachers.
- Organize workshops and training activities on sustainable tree farming practices, soil and water conservation, integrated fertility management, composting, silvopastoral systems, and integrated pest management.
- Offer on-farm extension support and advisory services.
- Foster competition among schools on best practices.
- Encourage the establishment of young farmer producers through 4K Clubs.
By implementing this project, KenGen will contribute to the national goal of growing 15 billion trees by 2032 and spearhead a campaign to instill a tree-growing culture among children. Ultimately, this will help achieve the goal of providing clean, reliable, and affordable energy for all, with more rehabilitated and conserved landscapes.
Partner With Us
The Green Initiative Challenge provides a unique opportunity for stakeholders to support environmental conservation and climate action. By partnering with us, stakeholders can:
- Contribute to national and global efforts to combat climate change.
- Promote sustainable development and community resilience.
- Enhance the impact and sustainability of conservation initiatives.
We invite individuals, corporations, development agencies, community groups, and all stakeholders to join us in greening our schools and involving our young children in climate action. More schools need green spaces for a conducive learning environment and a chance to learn how to grow their own food. By adopting a child-centric approach to climate action, upscaling the GIC beyond current project sites, and integrating policy advocacy into the core GIC theory of change, we can make a lasting impact on Kenya’s environment and communities.
Join us in this noble project and help create a sustainable future for the next generation.