Voi — Taita Taveta County has unveiled a Sh2 million roadside tree planing campaign to cover 275 kilometers of road as part of its climate action.

Governor Andrew Mwadime said his administration will work with Community Based Organisations CBOs in the campaign doubling up as landscape restoration efforts.

He spoke on Wednesday during the launch of the initiative in Mwatate sub-county one of the four administrative units in the county.

"This initiative will not only beautify our highways but also position our county as a global tourist destination, and be emulated by other counties," Mwadime said.

He urged the youth to embrace the initiative to ensure its success.

"Youths ought to take with seriousness the project and take ownership... in maintaining and watering, ultimately growing, the seedlings to maturity," the Governor added.

He emphasised the role of the youth in maintaining and watering the seedlings until they reach maturity is pivotal.

100 trees per person annullay

Grantone Mwandawiro the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in charge of Water, Sanitation, Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources echoed the Governor's sentiments, emphasizing the benefits of nurturing trees to maturity.

He restated the county's commitment to landscape restoration as part of the tree-growing campaign which requires every county resident to grow 100 trees per person annually for the next decade.

"Even in the face of urban development let's prioritise growing trees as we need a cleaner environment and green spaces which assist in purifying the air," he added

County Assembly's Chair for the Departmental Committee on Environment, MCA Lilian Mwangoi and area MCA Joseph Kennedy encouraged youth involvement in growing trees to reverse climate change effects.

The initiative funded through Financing Locally Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) domiciled in the National Treasury has identified the Kassod tree, locally known as mlezenyi, as a dominant species given its availability.

FLLoCA's support for the County Climate Change Fund will target a stretch along Mtito Andei to Voi on the Nairobi Mombasa Highway and another stretch on the Voi-Taveta stretch part of the 225km Voi-Taveta-Holili-Arusha Road.