28 schools from the semi-arid counties of Turkana and West Pokot are the pioneers of the KenGen Foundation’s Schools Green Initiative Challenge tree growing competition in Turkwel following a two-day training and sensitization workshop held at the respective counties, 3rd – 5thMarch.
The 14 registered schools from Turkana County and 14 schools West Pokot will compete in growing and nurturing selected tree species in the two-year pilot project implemented by the KenGen Foundation in partnership with KenGen PLC and Tullow Oil PLC. The project aims at increasing the areas forest cover while encouraging sustainable natural resource management through the planting of trees within school compounds.
“An aerial view of the two counties can reveal the devastating effects of environmental degradation, and this project is long overdue in the area”, he said.
“As a department, our mandate extends beyond planting trees to ensuring that the future generation will be able to enjoy the fruits of nature”, he added.
The two counties straddle KenGen PLC’s Turkwel hydropower station that generates approximately 106 MW from the Turwel Gorge Dam. The area is prone to erratic rainfall patterns and perennial drought that can be attributed to the effects of global warming.
Present during the training was Turkana South TSC Director Mr. Bernard Orwasa who lauded the project and pledged the commission’s commitment in minoring the trees planted as part of its mandate in encouraging sustainable environmental activities within schools.
The Foundation’s team comprising of Ernest Nyamasyo, Dorcas Arama and Mary Kimani were joined by the GIC Turkwel project’s Monitoring and Evaluation officers Abednego Ewoi and Celestine Pkemoi to deliver a series of lectures on the technics of nurturing and growing Azadirchta indica, Senna siameaand Terminalis browniitree species on 0.5 acre woodlots.
The ‘green’ teachers were instructed on best practices in tree nursery management including weeding, seed propagation, pest and disease control, and best practices in sustainable water harvesting. Participants were encouraged to transfer the knowledge and skills gained from the training to the students and their communities.
The GIC Turkwel tree growing competition is part KenGen’s commitment to sustainable environmental management and an extension of the successful 10-year GIC project currently ongoing at Embu, Kitui and Machakos counties with over 600 schools.
Structured as a competition, the GIC Turwel project’s best performing schools stand to benefit from education scholarships, infrastructural developments, educational tours, water tanks, rainwater-harvesting structures, and cash awards after a period of two years.
The GIC Turkwel project targets the involvements of over 500 students; both in primary and secondary schools who will in turn act as the areas environment ambassadors during and after their education.
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–Ernest Nyamasyo, Communication Officer