Kenya: Tree Planting Report of Elgeyo Marakwet has been released. Kaptagat Forest was awash with 4×4 motor sport lovers and conservationists who converged in the Station with the aim of promoting the conservation of ecosystem through motor sport.
Reportedly, the participants were drawn from all corners of the nation, and they planted a total of 7513 seedlings of both exotic and indigenous tree species.
The event was organised by Diesel Power, which is a local petroleum company and has been championing tree growing in the North Rift region. Diesel Power is in the process of developing a Framework of Collaboration with the Kenya Forest Service to legitimise their partnership.
The tree planting and 4×4 motor event was graced by the County CECMs Incharge of Sports – Michael Kibiwott and Education Madam – Purity Koima. They both lauded Diesel Power and KFS for their collaboration.
The Elgeyo Marakwet County Forest Conservator – Richard Guya thanked Diesel Power, CFA and all sponsors for their partnership in carrying out restoration activities in the County. The motor sport event runs through to Sunday.
Also, the development of mega nurseries is progressing well. The government, through the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), is rolling out a nationwide network of mega tree nurseries to supply the high-quality seedlings which is required to deliver Kenya’s 15-billion tree growing target by 2032.
The initiative signals a transition to industrial-scale seedling production, that aims at closing supply gaps, by improving planting success rates, and anchoring the country’s long-term reforestation drive.
As part of this effort, Chief Conservator of Forests – Alex Lemarkoko has conducted a working tour of Kinale, Dundori and Naivasha forest stations to review progress on the flagship nursery projects. The inspection focused on implementation timelines, operational readiness and alignment with national afforestation priorities.
Lemarkoko was accompanied by Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests – Francis Kariuki, who said that progress at the sites was encouraging. It underscored the credibility of the national tree growing programme that depends on a steady pipeline of resilient, and high-quality seedlings.
He pointed to an aggressive scale-up which is already underway:
- Kinale Tree Nursery is being expanded from 200,000 to 8 million seedlings,
- Dundori to 6 million, and
- Naivasha to 2 million
These upgrades are expected to significantly boost national production capacity and support planting targets across regions. The CCF said that the mega nurseries are a deliberate, large-scale intervention designed to meet the unprecedented demand, generated by the 15 billion tree initiative.
The programme is being implemented in partnership with the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, which is providing housing units to provide accommodation of National Youth Service personnel, who will provide labour alongside KFS teams.
This is a coordinated approach that reflects a whole-of-government strategy to accelerate forest restoration, strengthen ecosystem resilience and will keep Kenya on track toward its climate and environmental commitments.