Narok County Government and the World Bank under the Financing Locally Led Climate Action (FLLOCA) programme has launched a school greening programme and the distribution of energy saving jikos expected to boost environmental conservation.
Speaking during the launch at a Narok hotel, Narok Governor Patrick Ntutu said a total of 723 out of 923 schools in the county would benefit from the distribution of fruit trees.
The initiative specifically targets 86 schools in Narok East, 185 in Narok North, 87 in Narok South, 134 in Narok West, 72 in Trans Mara East, 67 in Trans Mara South and 92 schools in Trans Mara West sub counties. The governor further distributed 3000 clean cooking stoves that would be distributed equally to the 30 wards of the county in order to boost clean energy technology across the county.
He said the efforts represent a continuation of the ongoing efforts to conserve soil erosion in a bid to curb effects of climate change in the county.
“I challenge these schools to dedicate their time and efforts to nurturing the planted fruit trees to maturity, while with the collaborative oversight of the Ministry of Education and the Ward Climate Change Planning Committee, we will monitor the progress,” he said.
Ntutu underscored that the programme would not only achieve a greener environment, but also enhance food security and nutrition among the school going children. He called on the residents to embrace modern farming technology that would reduce soil erosion so as to conserve the environment.
The governor said the county government has committed to fence all the forest land in the county in a bid to achieve their target. Narok County Commissioner Kipkech Lotiatia reiterated that the security team is keen in protecting the forest land and stemming illegal cutting of trees saying in the recent past, 35 motorbikes have been seized while transporting forest produce illegally.
He called on the residents to give vital information on any individual found cutting down trees illegally or destroying forest land, so that appropriate action could be taken