Arriving at the end of the 1-km KenGen Gitaru Power Station’s descending tunnel, 30 young environmentalists from Kyusyani Primary School gazed in amazement at the massive machinery and rumbling turbines as they prepared for their tour of the power plant on 14 June.
The students, accompanied by their Green Teacher Josephine Manda, Head Teacher Michael Karimi, former Head Teacher Elijah Mutua and Mr. Christopher Kea, were on an educational tour of a power plant, having emerged position three in Phase III of the Schools Green Initiative Challenge tree planting competition.
READ MORE: Thrilling Mombasa Trip for GIC Phase III Winners.
Despite the din, the group was keen to catch every word from the technician, asking questions and scribbling notes as she explained how the power plant’s control panels works.
Kyusyani Primary School recorded the third highest in Phase III of the Schools’ Green Initiative challenge tree planting competition, beating 97 other schools in Embu, Machakos and Kitui counties to earn the trip.
The GIC is an afforestation project structured as a competition between participating schools. It involves schools planting indigenous tree for multiple benefits not limited to climate change mitigation, while creating awareness on environmental conservation and empowering communities.
Producing approximately 225Mw, Gitaru Power Station is the biggest station in terms of installed and effective capacity. It is part of the 7 Forks, which include Kamburu, Kiambere, Kindaruma and Masinga hydroelectricity dams.
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The students were later treated to lunch at Matendeni Senior Staff club and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying themselves at the club’s swimming pool.
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–Ernest Nyamasyo, Communication Officer