The Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) Mr. Alex Lemarkoko on Thursday met Ms Truphena Muthoni who recently set a world record for hugging a tree for 72 hours in Nyeri County.
The CCF noted that Muthoni’s love for trees had given her global prominence and urged her to use the platform to build support for tree growing.
Mr.Lemarkoko invited Ms Muthoni who was recently appointed as the 15 Billion Tree Growing Ambassador by President William Ruto to work with KFS to popularise a tree growing culture especially among the youth.Â
“Your deep love for trees is an inspiration to young people to appreciate trees and forest conservation”, said Mr. Lemarkoko.
He added that Ms Muthoni was a reincarnation of the late Nobel Laureate and Forest Conservation champion Prof. Wangari Maathai who also sacrificed a lot for forest conservation.
On her part, Truphena thanked the CCF for supporting her initial attempt at breaking the record in February at Michuki Park in Nairobi through provision of security.
She pledged to use her platform to increase the profile of the 15 Billion Tree Growing initiative noting that it held the promise of securing the country’s future.
She agreed with the CCF’s proposal for her to adopt a forest which she will rehabilitate and restore with the help of other young people and the Service.
Ms Muthoni also took the time to visit Karura Forest where she planted a tree and interacted with young people working in the forest.
The CCF later visited the Tree Biotechnology Trust tree nursery in Karura Forest to assess it’s suitability for producing seedlings for the 15 billion tree growing initiative.
