Oluwatosin Eiseke Bolaji
Kenya has a forest cover of 7.4% - short of the constitutional requirement of 10%. Forests in Kenya are threatened by illegal logging and overexploitation, leading to soil erosion, flooding and a loss of biodiversity. The more trees that are planted and allowed to grow to maturity, the more carbon dioxide is removed by them from the atmosphere. In turn, the more oxygen we all enjoy. Carbon dioxide is the main cause of anthropogenic climate change. The gas absorbs solar energy and keeps heat close to the Earth's surface, creating a greenhouse effect, rather than letting it escape into space.
In July 2022, two environmentalists from Miti Alliance, Joan Njoki and Michael Waiyaki, partnered with ACK Kirangari Primary School near Nairobi to equip students with practical skills to plant and grow trees and to engage in sustainable organic farming in small spaces. Through modern technologies including virtual reality, Joan and Michael are able to show the climate issues affecting Kenya and the world.
“We have been using fertiliser for too long, we’ve over-exploited the soil and microorganisms are being depleted due to high acidity levels,” says Michael. One of the ways to do soil regeneration is by means of agroforestry, where indigenous trees, fruit trees and vegetables are planted on the same land to increase biodiversity. Transfer of this knowledge from one generation to the next is the most crucial part and Micheal understands this: “We are correcting the soil now for the next generation”, he says.
I spent a week and a half documenting Joan and Michael as they taught their students how to prepare the soil for planting, how to make organic manure via a compost pit, how to correctly plant seedlings and how to care for trees as they grow.
“I care about the environment because it's a critical part of our survival. Others should care because failure to be responsible will not only affect them but their future generations,” says Joan.
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