The Ministry of Education with the support from Arbor Day Foundation and One Vision Kenya has initiated a tree planting program across 15 schools in Migori County.
The program called ‘School Greening Program’ will see schools from five wards; Kwa, South Kanyamakago, Central Kamagambo, Masaba and Macalder Kanyarwanda wards in Migori benefit from the initiative.
According to the initiators of the program, its main aim is to sensitize learners on the importance of growing trees, and environmental conservation and also to educate them on the adverse effects of climate change and how they can address them through planting trees.
Speaking during the launch of the program at Asar Johanson Comprehensive School in Migori town, Victor Ogindo director of One Vision Kenya, which is the organization initiating the program, outlined that they target three schools from each of the five wards mentioned across the entire county.
He said the school’s greening program is an initiative that is also geared towards helping the government achieve its target of planting 15 billion trees by the end of 2032.
“Apart from driving the government’s agenda of planting 15 billion trees, we are also allowing these young pupils to get to know the importance of planting and taking care of trees,” said Ogindo.
Ogindo stated that apart from giving ceremonial trees which will provide shade for learners in the schools, they also aim to give other species depending on the school’s surroundings.
Suna West Sub County Director of Education Mr Joseph Onyango, revealed that the Ministry is given a target of planting 60 per cent of trees to be planted in the country, noting that such initiatives like the school greening program will help them achieve their goal.
“As a ministry, we have been mandated to meet a target of planting 60 per cent of tree cover in the national greening program,” said the director.
The director urged the teachers and the pupils to be responsible for taking care of the trees and elaborated on the mechanism they will use to monitor the growth of the trees.
“The Ministry of Education has a very elaborate program put in place to ensure online monitoring by visiting schools, taking photos and uploading them on the Elimu Trees Platform,” he explained.
However, the administrator noted that despite facing challenges of getting seedlings to achieve this goal, they believe through the support from such partners as One Vision Kenya and Arbor Day Foundation, the threshold will be met.
He urged the administration of the schools within Migori County to ensure that they achieve their objectives of planting four trees per student and ten trees per teacher.
Peter Boke, the Headteacher of Assar Johansson also revealed that the survival rate of trees planted in the school was very low, especially during the rainy season when the school becomes water-logged and too dry during the dry season.
Moreover, he promised the survival of the trees adding that The Green Life Organization had taught them the management of trees through drip Irrigation programs to increase the chances of survival of the trees planted in the school compound.
He also noted that they are going to work closely with student leaders to avoid the destruction of the trees by the learners.
EKAI JAMES 
IAN BYRON