US supports Kenya's greening agenda

Victor Okila(L) from fruity school Africa helping the US ambassador Meg Whitman(R) as she plants a tree at the Muongoiya primary School in Kiambu County in partnership with Standard group with the aim of planting fruity trees for food security and thriving ecosystems. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

The US government will support Kenya's greening agenda.

US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman said they have carried out several trees planting projects in the country and will be doing more in the future.

"We support the Kenyan government in its greening agenda," Whitman said.

She was speaking on Tuesday morning during a trees planting exercise at Muongoiya Primary School in Kiambaa, Kiambu county.

The initiative, sponsored by US embassy in collaboration with Standard Group and Fruity Schools Africa, saw over 60 fruit-trees planted.

Whitman underscored the need to incorporate schools into environmental conservation initiatives to spread the impact towards combating climate change.

She said she will be at the forefront in influencing her counterparts and other organisations to adopt the environmental conservations measures.

"This is the second tree-planting exercise I have done with schools in Kenya, we are going to do one every month. We will be heading to Eldoret for the next exercise," she added.

The school headteacher Cyrus Kuria said the programme is of great economic value.

He urged Kiambaa community to embrace environmental conservation initiatives.

"We have noticed a good response from the community that continue to support us in increasing vegetation cover," Kuria said.

Mercy Kamunya of Fruity Schools Africa organisation lauded Standard Group PLC for playing a leading role in greening agenda campaigns.

Ministry of Education's Mark Gathuri said: "the government plan to incorporate learning institutions in planting of trees will yield desired results in combating the devastating effects of climate change."

President William Ruto's government has been in the forefront pushing for Africa's environmental conservation measures to mitigate climate change with Nairobi expecting to host the continental climate change summit in September this year.

The Kenya Kwanza government is seeking to realise 15 billion trees by the end of vision 2030 through its greening agenda.