The Family Group Foundation has signed a three-year Framework for Collaboration with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to accelerate ecosystem restoration efforts in the Ngong Hills Forest. Anchored by the Foundation’s one-million tree seedlings nursery project, the partnership aims to boost seedling production, drive indigenous tree-growing initiatives, and deepen local community engagement in forest conservation.

This formal agreement builds on an ongoing restoration campaign launched in 2021. The Family Group Foundation has invested over Ksh. 18 million into the landscape, successfully planting more than 20,000 indigenous tree seedlings and putting 70 acres of land under active restoration.

The initiative aligns directly with national conservation priorities. According to estimates by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, the Ngong Hills Forest requires approximately one million trees, alongside strategic fencing and geo-mapping, to reverse land degradation and curb encroachment.

“As a Foundation, our target is to scale restoration efforts across the full 240-acre target landscape by 2030,” said John Waimiri, Executive Director of The Family Group Foundation. “This partnership provides a stronger platform to move beyond individual tree-planting activities towards long-term ecosystem restoration. The Kenya Forest Service brings the technical expertise and institutional mandate required to manage forest ecosystems. Together, our strengths create a stronger platform for lasting climate action impact.”

A central pillar of the partnership will be implementing KFS’s Model Tree Nursery blueprint, designed to build high-capacity, standardized nurseries capable of mass-producing quality seedlings. Beyond environmental impacts, the collaboration emphasizes sustainable community development for those living adjacent to the forest reserve.

“Today we mark an important step in advancing forest conservation and landscape restoration,” said Alex Lemarkoko, Chief Conservator of Forests at KFS. “Our focus goes beyond growing trees to also supporting the communities living around these landscapes. We value this partnership as it demonstrates what can be achieved when government and the private sector work together towards a common environmental and community development goal.”

The joint effort directly supports Kenya’s broader 15 Billion Tree Growing Programme, serving as a model for public-private partnerships in driving large-scale environmental sustainability.

Established in 2012 as the social and environmental impact arm of Family Bank Limited, The Family Group Foundation advances Corporate Citizenship and ESG commitments through high-impact, community-anchored initiatives. The Foundation has invested over Ksh. 1 Billion in projects spanning Education, Healthcare, Agriculture, Youth Empowerment, Entrepreneurship, and Environmental Conservation.