The Kenyan government has declared Monday, November 13, a public holiday to allow people time to plant trees.
The ministry of interior said on X, the social networking site formerly known as Twitter, that the public will be “expected to plant trees as a patriotic contribution to the national efforts to save our country from the devastating effects of climate change”.
The decision was made at a cabinet sitting in the coastal city of Mombasa on November 3, the ministry said.
“National examinations (for secondary school leavers) scheduled for that day shall proceed normally,” it added.
The ministry said the day would be known as the “National Tree Growing Day”.
Government figures showed in 2021 that the country’s tree cover stood at 12.13 percent while forest cover was at 8.83 percent.
President William Ruto has set a target of planting 15 billion tree seedlings by 2032.
It is not clear whether the tree-growing public holiday would be marked every year or only in 2023.
