Environmental conservation has been among the issues that have dominated the airwaves in the year 2023. With an ambitious government initiative aimed at planting 15 billion trees, there has been tremendous activities that have been lined up to ensure that this becomes a reality. Young Kenyans have not been left behind in this ambitious program. They have taken the lead in ensuring that we achieve this.
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| From top left; Laura Sang, Ibrahim Kibiwott, Maureen Jepkosgei and Jeffrey Kosgey. They are youthful environmentalists from Nandi making an impact through their initiatives |
Here are some of the notable personalities that have led from the front in ensuring that we achieve a sustainable forest cover in Nandi.
Laura Sang
Laura Sang comes from Nandi, Mosop Sub County, Kabisaga Location. According to her, their home is a green zone paradise with a myriad of trees and a natural forest that they tend to.
The Sociology and Project management graduate, Laura has a true passion for community oriented projects. She is an entrepreneur and a climate action champion. She is also a member of the Rotary Club Of Eldoret and serves in the Kenya High school alumni association.
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| Laura posing for photo with pupils during a tree planting exercise. |
She says that the journey towards conservation has been quite a fulfilling one for her. "The planning and executing of tree growing initiatives in schools and monitoring over a period of time and seeing the physical change in landscaping is rewarding." She said.
Being able to impact on school going children brings hope for a greener future. She added.
In 2023, she has overseen the planting of over 5500 tree seedlings. She says that they currently document all their tree planting exercise on the Jaza Miti app for conducive reporting and monitoring.
Projects lined up for 2024
Among the projects lined up for 2024 include mapping out of schools within Nandi to support and establish green lots and environment clubs in primary, Secondary and Tertiary institutions.
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| Laura attending a luncheon hosted on behalf of King Charles when he recently visited Kenya. Laura was invited to the event due to her conservation efforts |
"We've also lined up partnerships with climate action groups as well as corporates to enhance capacity building and scale up tree growing exercises. We are also looking for ways to integrate IT and environmental conservation to bring on board more youth." She stated.
Her advise to the youth in conservation
"Conservation is a choice, a necessary one. This is not a one time feeling or just an afterthought. You have to be consistent in it, you have to be passionate too. It is a service and not a profit making venture. Maybe we will reap the profits later when we and our future generations enjoy the fruits of labor.
Parting Shot
Mother Earth has been kind to us. Let us be kind and tender to her. Planting trees is the cheapest and easiest way to be part of climate action. Tupande Miti,Tulinde Miti.
Ibrahim Kibiwott
A resident of Nandi, Nandi Hills subcounty. He schooled at Nandi Hills township primary then joined Griffin's academy before joining Abrar secondary school where he states that he developed a deep appreciation for community and environmental issues.
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| Ibrahim Kibiwott with pupils from Township Primary School, Nandi Hills. (Photo Courtesy) |
After highchool, he founded Nandi Enlighters a CBO committed to environmental restoration and public awareness. It is this foundation that nurtured his commitment to environmental causes.
"Witnessing the impact of our efforts in restoring the environment and raising awareness fueled my determination. This experience led to the registration of Eco Greenlife Global as an international NGO, expanding our capacity to mobilize communities on climate change mitigation." He said.
In 2023, tree planting became a personal initiative. Collaboration with other agencies saw us planting more than 170,000 seedlings all over the country.
Projects lined up for 2024
According to Ibrahim, Eco Greenlife has a number of projects lined up for the coming year. "We plan to expand tree planting exercise, promote sustainable agriculture and increase community engagement in climate adaptation measures. As we all know, collaboration remains a cornerstone as we seek to amplify our impact through partnerships." He stated.
Advise to youth
I reiterate the importance of conservation. This concept isn't just about planting trees or reducing the carbon footprint, it is also about realizing that our collective actions shape the world we live in. Conservation is a shared responsibility and each effort no matter how small contributes to a healthier sustainable purpose.
Parting Shot
I would emphasize on the power of community collaboration. When we come together we can create a positive lasting change. My journey is a testament to the impact individuals can have when driven by a shared commitment for environmental stewardship. Let's continue working hand in hand for the well being of our planet and future generations.
Maureen Jepkosgei
Popularly known in the interwebs as Cheptab Nandi, Maureen was born and raised in the beautiful Kamungei village in Nandi. The village is located by the edge of the once dense tropical rainforest overlooking the picturesque Nandi escarpment and by extension Western Kenya.
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| Maureen at a past tree planting exercise (Photo Courtesy) |
She has a background in Environmental Science with a specialty in Hydrology. Her passion for community development cannot be ignored.
She founded a social enterprise based in Nandi known as Arise Nandi Empowerment Initiative. This organization focuses on promoting gender responsive climate resilience amongst rural women, girls and the youth who are disproportionately burdened by climate crisis.
This special group of people play a vital role in Agriculture and household livelihoods yet lack access to resources, decision making, power and climate resilient strategies. The initiative seeks to address the glaring gender gap to enhance the County's climate resilience by socially and economically empowering the vulnerable through provision of knowledge and resources to adapt to climate change challenges.
This tailored training include climate smart agriculture, access to short term crop varieties, kitchen garden and establishment of tree nurseries and table banking.
Jeffrey Kosgey
Jeffrey comes from Kaiboi, in Nandi's Mosop Subcounty. He is an economist by training, works as a banker and is a proactive social entrepreneur who is passionate about the environment.
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| Jeffrey addressing members of the press after a tree planting exercise (Photo Courtesy) |
He founded the One Child One Tree Africa, an initiative that brings to the Frontline the young generation, particularly school children in taking climate action.
As a result of my conservation and community work, I have been selected the Queens Commonwealth Trust Network Young Leader 2023, listed among the 2021 top 100 Young African Conservation Leaders by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the African Wildlife Foundation(AWF). I am also the recipient of the Youth Volunteer of the Year 2017 in Kenya and a finalist in 2021 top 35Under 35 by the Ministry of ICT, Innovations and Youth.
How he conservation journey has been
In Africa, particularly in Kenya, the adverse impacts of climate change are disproportionately affecting children, leading to malnutrition, disease outbreaks, and disruptions in their education. Despite being vulnerable, these children are often not involved as solution drivers in tackling climate change. To address this, I founded One Child One Tree Africa in 2017 to bring the young generation to the frontline in taking climate action through climate education and tree planting exercises. So far, 19,600 school children across the country have been brought to the frontline in addressing climate change through climate education and by planting trees within their schools.
What are some of the projects lined up for 2024
Climate change and environmental conservation are shared challenges that we are facing not only in Kenya but also globally. This calls for partnerships and collaborations among various entities in our society. At One Child One Tree Africa, 2024 will be a momentous year as we will be targeting to reach out to more than 20,000 school children. Through our climate education programs and tree planting campaigns, we will aim to equip school children with conservation skills and bring them to the frontline as solution drivers.
Parting Shot
Sustainability issues cuts across professions therefore it should never be an impediment, whether one is in medical world or the tech world they can find their space to contribute to a sustainable world. Everyone can contribute in diverse ways, it can be in terms of environmental and climate policies, clean energy, sustainable farming techniques, climate education or even climate advocacy. A sustainable future is a collective responsibility.
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