Kapenguria Division assistant County Commissioner Ruth Wachera is an environmental conservation enthusiast , and while conducting her administrative duties overseeing chiefs and assistant chiefs, she had always contemplated establishing a tree nursery in the semi-arid West Pokot region.
As a Environment Conservation and Management graduate, she wanted to embark on her mission via a sustainable route, and decided to use empty milk packets to plant her tree seedlings. Milk packets were the ideal planters for Wachera, as they are easily available, ecologically friendly and capable of retaining water even during the dry season.
Wachera would then begin collecting the used milk packets from markets, schools and institutions, and obtain tree seedlings from fruits and exotic plants. She would fill the packets with a mixture of soil, sand and ashes and then plant the seedlings.
The project which she started in 2022 gradually gained momentum, leading her to establish a bed for tree seedlings at her office premises. After sprouting, she would transfer them to the milk packets and distribute to locals for free which she did for a year.
In the Kapenguria Division tree nursery, they grow various exotic and native seedlings. These include about 800 Korrelach (Croton) seedlings, 400 Syzygium Guineense seedlings, 3,500 Cyprus seedlings, and around 2,000 seedlings not yet transplanted into empty milk packets. They also have a few pawpaw, white sapote, and avocado tree seedlings.
She told a local media outlet that since she started, she has successfully planted 30,000 seedlings using the Jaza Miti App. This app helps users choose the right tree species for their area and lets them document, track, and monitor the growth of their trees over time.
Her initiative has been well received by locals ,and they aid in helping her bring her dream to life, tasking workers attached to her office, chiefs and inmates to help her collect the milk packets and seedlings from their surroundings.
“I collect milk pouches wherever I spot them without shame. When they spot used milk packets, they inform me. We collect them together and put them in sacks. Assistant chiefs bring me wild trees and sometimes prisoners help me do the job,” she said in an interview.
The administrator plans to expand her initiative by involving individuals and public institutions such as primary and secondary schools and government offices to establish tree nurseries within their enclosed environments.
She believes inculcating the habit of tree planting in learners enables them to become key participants in addressing climate change, to achieve to presidential directive of planting 15 billion trees by 2032.
She also calls on institutions interested in planting trees within her jurisdiction to contact her for a donation of tree seedlings.
