OPINION: What if everyone had to plant a tree, or else...
OPINION: What if everyone had to plant a tree, or else...
OPINION: What if everyone had to plant a tree, or else...
What if planting a tree wasn’t a CSR activity, a school punishment, or a presidential photo op, but a national obligation?
Imagine if, like filing taxes or renewing your ID, every Kenyan was required by law or culture to plant a tree each year. Not as a suggestion. Not as a campaign. As a basic act of citizenship. You turn 18? Plant a tree. Want a business permit? Show us your sapling. Run for office? Let’s see your forest.
Wild? Maybe. But is it wilder than pretending we can survive ten more years of erratic rains, poisoned rivers, and cities that choke more than they breathe?
We have turned sustainability into an option. A luxury. A side show. But what if it became a rite of passage? A shared ritual that cuts across tribe, class, and county?
I don't know about Kenya, but in Canada it's too late to plant trees. Climate change has intensified forest fires in such a way that the forest has been a net emitter in recent years. Furthermore human planted trees are extremely flammable compared to an actual forest, so they accelerate emissions instead of helping. A forest is not the plural for trees, it's an extremely complex system that cannot be substituted with an afternoon of good actions.