Dedan Kimathi Foundation Culminates Meru Environmental Week with Landmark Tree-Growing Initiatives

 

By John Kariuki

Since kicking off a 20,000-tree growing campaign on Easter Monday at Township DEB Primary School, Dedan Kimathi Foundation’s environmental team has been on the ground in Meru County, blending conservation with community support. Led by CEO Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi, the team began by distributing foodstuffs to Meru Mau Mau veterans and their descendants, then remained in the county through Friday, April 25, 2025, to drive a series of transformative planting exercises.

At the heart of the week’s activities was the voluntary planting of 30,000 indigenous seedlings at the Kithoka Forest beat section of Meru Forest, organized in partnership with Mt. Kenya Trust. Volunteers and Foundation staff carefully positioned species such as Olea africana (African wild olive), Prunus africana (African cherry), Markhamia lutea (Nile tulip), Juniperus procera (red cedar) and Syzygium guineense (waterberry), among others. To ensure maximum survival, members of the Kithoka Community Forest Association have been entrusted with nurturing the young trees over the next three years—an approach that promises high retention rates and mutual benefits for both the forest service and local communities.

Throughout the week, the Foundation’s team also made significant inroads in local schools. In collaboration with the Kenya Forest Service, they have now forested 15 public schools across Igembe North and Imenti North sub-counties under the ‘Adopt a Tree’ programme. This initiative supplies seedlings directly to learners, encouraging them to become active stewards of their environment. At Naari Location in Buuri East, local chief Roseline Kinya praised the Foundation for bolstering the national 15-billion-tree campaign, vowing to support aftercare efforts in all beneficiary schools.

On Thursday, April 24, the team extended its reach beyond school grounds, working with NGAO community members, school heads, parents and pupils at Naari Location Chief’s camp, Mujujune Comprehensive, MCK Rugetene Day and Boarding Secondary, and Michaka Comprehensive schools. They also distributed Grevillea robusta and Casuarina equisetifolia seedlings to local farmers, providing valuable sources of wood and timber.

By focusing not only on planting but also on sustained growth and community ownership, Dedan Kimathi Foundation has laid solid groundwork for Meru’s long-term climate resilience. As the trees take root, so too does a renewed sense of environmental stewardship among the county’s residents proof that when communities come together, green ambitions can flourish into lasting change.

April 28, 2025