Nairobi — As groups, individuals and organisations across the country marked the International Day of Forests on 21st March, taking action to make the planet greener through tree planting initiatives, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) Alex Lemarkoko commended communities working closely with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) for their role in driving the national tree growing agenda, while reaping the economic benefits. Speaking during a visit to one of the expanded large-scale model tree nurseries off the Nairobi-Naivasha highway at Kinale Forest, he said.
"The work we are doing at Kinale cannot be achieved by KFS alone. Through the Community Forest Association, communities are providing the labour that has enabled us to reach the current two million seedlings."
Once producing just 200,000 seedlings annually, the Kinale nursery has scaled to 2 million and is now on track to reach 8 million seedlings, positioning it as a large-scale model quality tree seedlings facility supporting Kenya's indigenous and plantation forestry reforestation agenda.
Indigenous trees are native species that naturally grow in a particular region and are primarily grown and conserved for ecological restoration, biodiversity, and climate resilience, rather than for commercial harvesting. In contrast, plantation forests are specifically established to meet timber needs sustainably. These typically involve fast-growing species such as pine, eucalyptus, or cypress.
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"The seedlings that we produce in the nursery include indigenous and exotics as well. Exotics will be planted in our plantations to supply the required seedlings for our plantation forestry. But 90% of the seedlings we produce are indigenous, meant to be planted in the catchment areas and the areas that we need to enhance the capacity of our watersheds." Lemarkoko clarified
Highlighting that "We have engaged communities through the CFAs, and they provide the labour that has enabled us to reach the current 2 million seedlings. The Kinale facility alone is being upgraded from producing 200,000 seedlings annually to a projected 8 million,"
The broader Kinale forest ecosystem cuts across Kiambu, Nyandarua and Nakuru counties, and the nursery off the Nairobi-naivasha highway reflects a growing shift towards community-driven, high-impact forestry, where environmental restoration and livelihoods go hand in hand.
"The 15 billion trees agenda requires us to produce at least 1 billion seedlings from our nurseries every year, and an additional half a billion from other partners, bringing the total to 1.5 billion annually," he said.
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To accelerate the programme, the government has also enlisted the National Youth Service (NYS), deploying young people to support nursery operations while equipping them with practical forestry skills.
"This is not just about labour; it is about knowledge transfer. These young people will carry these skills back to their communities, accelerating tree-growing efforts nationwide," the KFS boss noted.
The expansion is part of a broader national push to scale production, drawing contributions not only from government nurseries but also from the private sector, farmers, and non-governmental stakeholders.
