Nambale sub county Deputy County Commissioner Caroline Onchoka has appealed to the area residents to plant more trees in a bid to fight climate change.
Onchoka who was speaking at St. Peter’s Khwirale secondary school in Nambale sub county after launching tree planting campaign, said the government was committed to tackling climate change which is affecting the globe, but stressed the importance of locals input in achieving the goal, “As a government we intend to achieve 10% forest cover but we cannot achieve our target alone minus the support from wananchi that is why today I urge you to join us and plant trees in schools and at home,” said Onchonka
She revealed that the sub county was almost achieving its target of planting six million trees by 2022, “We are not far from achieving our target and am sure if we join hands we are going to make it by next year,” she added
Her sentiments were echoed by area forest officer Elijah Oyugi, Nambale sub county administrator Fridah Nekesa and Khwirale secondary school Board of Management (BOM) chairperson Leonard Murwayi, “A part from tackling climate change, trees also act as wind breakers and are also used us firewood and timber and it’s because of this that we are encouraging our people to plant more and more trees.”
During the launch which was also attended by chiefs and their assistants from across the sub county, over two thousand five hundred seedlings were planted with some donated by the forest department and Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA).
Locals who attended the launch were also given some tree seedlings to plant in their homes, “I also urge those who have planted the trees here in school to be coming back to check on them and water them during the dry season so that they don’t dry up,” the sub county admin urged.