Homa Bay is targeting to plant 92,000 tree seedlings in one hour at Lambwe Forest Station on October 10 as part of the national bid to plant six million seedlings across Kenya during this year’s Mazingira Day celebrations.

Homa Bay is among 32 counties selected to participate in the Guinness World Records challenge, according to County Forest Conservator Sharon Cheluget.

The county will begin mobilisation and environmental restoration activities on October 5 ahead of the October 10 climax.

Cheluget urged residents, schools, community organisations and other stakeholders to participate in the preparations and the main event, saying their involvement will be critical to Homa Bay’s contribution to the national target.

The 92,000 seedlings earmarked for the Lambwe challenge will comprise cypress trees, with Homa Bay expected to source about 43,000 seedlings locally and obtain the remainder from Kenya Forest Service nurseries in neighbouring Nyanza counties.

The one-hour planting exercise will primarily involve trained National Youth Service personnel, while students and members of the public will participate in preparatory activities, including clearing the site and digging planting holes.

More than 30 stakeholders recently met in Homa Bay to coordinate preparations and mobilise communities for the celebrations.

Beyond the record tree-planting bid, organisers are targeting the restoration of more than 200 hectares of land across Homa Bay as part of the Mazingira Day build-up activities.

The restoration programme will target wetlands, schools, farms and areas along the Sondu Miriu and Tende rivers, where bamboo and vetiver grass will be planted to help reduce the impact of flooding.

Cheluget also urged residents to take advantage of the expected rains by planting trees and food crops while remaining alert to possible flooding.

Environmentalists have also called for greater community involvement to ensure that the trees planted survive beyond the celebrations.

Environmentalist Willis Omullo said the tree-planting campaign should not be left to the national and county governments alone, urging communities to take ownership of environmental restoration efforts.

He said the initiative would contribute to Kenya’s national target of planting 15 billion trees by 2032, while helping Homa Bay address climate-related challenges.

“This is a clarion call to each and every one that we are not only leaving this to the two levels of government, but we would like it to be community-led,” Omullo said.

He said stakeholders must focus not only on planting trees but also on ensuring their survival, noting that government departments, community forest associations, beach management units and other groups all have a role to play.

Omullo further urged departments dealing with agriculture, livestock, health and trade to participate in the restoration programme, saying climate change affects all sectors.

Homa Bay is particularly vulnerable to flooding during rainy seasons and during periods of low rainfall. Omullo said increasing forest cover and restoring degraded areas could strengthen the county’s resilience to such climate-related disasters.

“We are not only planting trees. As much as we are doing a challenge, we would like to see that these trees survive,” he said.

The officials said the success of the October 10 event will be measured not only by the number of seedlings planted during the one-hour challenge, but also by the survival of trees planted across the county as part of the wider environmental restoration.

by Sitna Omar