Long Rains begin in Kenya

With the long rains upon us here in Kenya the time for tree planting is now. This morning the air was thick and warm. I was sweating before I was out of the door. Huge puddles fill the roads and the matatu swerves around them. Eventually I am at a small plot of land near a school. Holes were dug the previous days and children are standing around everywhere waiting to plant their tree. The class 3 students had been raising these trees now for 3 months and are excited to be planting them and ready to take care of them till they reach class 8. The kids have been taught how important they are and know from experience how hard it is to find trees these days in Kenya at roughly 1.7% forest cover – down from the recommended 10%. Because trees grow 2 to 3 times faster in the tropics, these kids will be able to see these trees grow to towering sizes before the finish their primary eduction. Here the head of the environmental club (center) is surrounded by her peers as they water the first tree planted.