Ting’ang’a Primary and Junior School in Kiambu Sub-County has turned its pupils into young environmental stewards through a tree-planting exercise held as part of this year’s Mazingira Week.
The exercise was aimed at helping learners understand the importance of conserving the environment and the role trees play in mitigating the effects of climate change.
School headteacher Godfrey Gicheha said the initiative was driven by the need to contribute to efforts to improve the environment and address changing climatic conditions.
“What prompted me was the desire to change the climate of our country,” Gicheha told a local reporter, noting that trees help absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Pupils tasked with caring for planted trees
Rather than leaving the exercise as a one-day activity, the school plans to have pupils take responsibility for the trees they planted and monitor their growth.
Gicheha said each learner would be expected to care for a tree as part of an environmental conservation project, allowing pupils to put into practice what they learn in class.
“The school will make a strategy so that the pupils will be the ones taking care of those trees,” he said.
The headteacher added that the learners are also being taught how trees benefit their surroundings, including providing shade, supporting rainfall and helping regulate the local climate.
The tree-growing activity aligns with Kenya’s national tree-growing drive targeting 15 billion trees as the country seeks to raise its tree cover to 30 per cent by 2032.
School introduces rewards to encourage tree conservation
Ting’ang’a has introduced an additional incentive to encourage pupils to remain committed to the project. Learners whose trees eventually grow to their height will be rewarded.
The initiative is expected to give pupils a practical understanding of environmental conservation while fostering a sense of responsibility for the trees beyond the planting exercise.
One of the pupils said the activity had broadened their understanding of why protecting the environment matters.
“I have learnt that taking care of the environment can help us have a better place to live and protect us from the effects of climate change,” the pupil said.
The school hopes the growing trees will serve as a lasting reminder of the lessons imparted during Mazingira Week and inspire learners to make environmental conservation part of their daily lives.
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