Narok: Journalists have been challenged to raise public awareness about the realities of climate change so that residents can take timely and meaningful action to strengthen their resilience to climate change. Speaking during a two-day workshop held in a Narok hotel, Director of the Restore Africa Program, Kenya, Dr. Faith Muniale noted the extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, and heatwaves, that are increasing in both frequency and intensity.

According to Kenya News Agency, the impacts are particularly felt by smallholder rural communities, who rely on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods. ‘Journalists play a critical role in shaping perceptions and influencing public discourse. They also amplify the voices of vulnerable and affected communities,’ she said. The workshop brought together 39 journalists drawn from Migori and Narok counties through the Global EverGreening Alliance’s Restore Africa program.

The objective of the training was to build participants’ capacity in ecosystem restoration, livelihoods, and sustainable land management reporting. The program will also extend to Kilifi, Kwale, and Elgeyo Marakwet counties and aims to train over 100 journalists in environmental reporting. In Narok, the program aims to impact 50,206 smallholder farmers in Narok South, Narok North, and Trans Mara West Sub-Counties and restore 77,508 hectares of degraded land by planting over 3 million trees in ten years.

Already, 9,000 farmers have been recruited and registered as primary stakeholders and actively participate in tree restoration efforts. Additionally, 375,000 indigenous tree seedlings have been planted across various implementation areas to restore degraded landscapes and enhance environmental sustainability, and in this rainy season, the target is to plant over 650,000 indigenous tree seedlings.

‘Our aim is to restore the environment to the condition it used to be decades ago when farmers could predict the weather patterns and there was enough rain. This will improve on-farm productivity and boost livelihoods,’ she said. She called on the residents to volunteer in large numbers to be trained when the lead farmers and experts visit their localities to train them on environmental conservation.

‘The program supports the government’s ambitious plan to plant over 15 billion trees in ten years, as the trees planted are counted among the 15 billion trees,’ reiterated the director. The training involved field visits where the journalists visited some of the demonstration farms owned by farmers who have been recruited to lead in community sensitization on climate change.