Kenya’s First Mazingira Day Targets 100 Million Trees, Boosts 15‑Billion‑Tree Goal

When William Ruto, President of Kenya, declared October 10, 2025 a national holiday dedicated to the environment, the country geared up for an unprecedented tree planting sprint.

The celebration, christened Mazingira DayKenya, is slated for Friday, October 10, and aims to plant exactly 100 million seedlings nationwide.

Officials say the drive will be anchored by schools: 71 million fruit‑tree seedlings earmarked for 37,570 primary schools, with each institution required to plant at least 2,000 trees under the "turudi primo" campaign.

Background: Kenya’s Green Ambition

Kenya’s climate‑action roadmap took shape in December 2022 when William Ruto pledged to raise the nation’s forest cover to 30 percent by 2032. The target translates to roughly 15 billion trees, a figure that sounded bold at the time but has become a rallying cry for ministries, NGOs and the private sector alike.

Since the launch, the Environment Ministry reports that more than 1.06 billion trees have been planted – a leap from the 38 million recorded under the previous administration. The surge is largely credited to accelerated seedling production, better funding, and a series of policy tweaks introduced after the 2024 Kaptagat Forest demonstration, where the President personally planted a sapling in Kaptagat Forest on July 13, 2024.

The Mazingira Day Tree‑Planting Drive

At a joint press briefing in Nairobi on September 30, 2025, Festus Ng'eno, Environment Principal Secretary, unveiled the day‑long planting blueprint. "We will plant exactly 100 million seedlings, and 71 million of those will be fruit trees for our children," he said, his tone mixing pride with a hint of urgency.

Joining him, Gitonga Mugambi, Forestry Principal Secretary, emphasized the nutritional angle: "Mango, avocado and citrus trees are not just green; they feed families and create jobs in the next two to three years."

The Ministry of Education, represented by Stephen Sugut, Director of Primary Education, confirmed that every county’s education officers have already mapped schools, ordered seedlings and organized volunteer teams. "Many schools have already surpassed their planting targets," he noted on October 8, 2025.

Roles of Government, Schools and Private Partners

Deborah Barasa, Environment Cabinet Secretary, urged citizens to "use the holiday to go back to their primary school, donate and plant fruit trees" – a call that resonated on KBC Channel 1 the same evening.

Funding is a patchwork quilt of public and private money. The 2025‑2026 national budget set aside Sh 15 billion specifically for seedling production, distribution and monitoring. Additional cash flows from the Green Climate Fund, and from industry groups like the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, which has pledged logistical support and marketing expertise.

The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) has certified every seedling for disease resistance, a quality‑control step that should help achieve the Ministry’s 80 percent survival benchmark.

County governments have also stepped up. As of October 7, they reported 2,345 satellite nurseries ready to supply seedlings, and 98 percent of the required stock is already in hand.

Economic and Environmental Impact Forecasts

According to George Tarus, Secretary for Forest Development, the fruit‑tree drive could generate over Sh 3 billion in economic value within three years. The cash inflow will come from fruit sales, job creation in nurseries and agro‑processing, and ancillary services like transport and irrigation.

Ecologically, the seedlings are spread across public spaces, riparian reserves, community forests and school compounds, creating a mosaic of biodiversity corridors. Early modelling suggests that each hectare of mixed‑fruit planting can sequester up to 12 tonnes of CO₂ annually, a modest but meaningful contribution toward Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement.

Beyond carbon, the initiative tackles waste. Parallel to planting, a nationwide clean‑up will focus on waste segregation at source, a move championed by the Environment Ministry as "everyone’s responsibility" during the same September 30 broadcast.

Challenges, Monitoring and Future Outlook

Logistics remain the biggest headache. Transporting 100 million seedlings across rugged terrain, especially to remote schools, tests the capacity of county road networks. Seasonal rains, while beneficial for growth, also threaten seedling survival if planting dates slip.

To keep tabs, the Ministry has rolled out a monitoring framework that enlists school head‑teachers, county environmental officers and community forest associations. Mobile apps will allow real‑time reporting of planting numbers, survival rates and any pest outbreaks.

Looking ahead, officials stress that Mazingira Day is just the kickoff. "We need to learn throughout the rain season and keep planting as much as possible," said Gitonga Mugambi. The next milestones include hitting the 5‑billion‑tree mark by 2027 and scaling up agro‑forestry value chains, which could turn Kenya into a regional hub for sustainable timber and fruit exports.

If the current momentum sustains, Kenya may well rewrite the playbook for large‑scale reforestation, showing how policy, education and private partnership can converge on a single, leafy goal.