• The 2025 theme is “Citizen-Centric Tree Growing and Environmental Stewardship.” It calls on every Kenyan to take personal responsibility for protecting and nurturing the natural world.

As Kenya marks Mazingira Day, a day meant to celebrate our environment and renew our commitment to protecting it, the reality in Olive Inn, Kiamunyi, in Nakuru County tells a different story.

A sinkhole that opened years ago, after heavy rains swept away the soil has quietly transformed into a dumping ground. What was once a natural disaster is now filled with plastic, debris, and silence. The land is split in two.

“It was once whole,” says a resident and farmer who has farmed in Olive Inn since 2022. “But the rains in August 2023, and again in May and June 2024, caused the land to sink.” What began as erosion has become a symbol of neglect.

With every rainy season, water weeps into the sinkhole, deepening the wound. The erosion worsens. The soil disappears. And the question grows louder: What is the state of our environment?

Across the country, thousands of trees are being planted today as part of the government’s 15 billion tree-growing initiative. The goal is ambitious, restore landscapes, create jobs, and generate over 1 trillion shillings annually through environmental action. But Mazingira Day must be more than a photo opportunity.

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The 2025 theme is “Citizen-Centric Tree Growing and Environmental Stewardship.” It calls on every Kenyan to take personal responsibility for protecting and nurturing the natural world.

According to Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa, Mazingira Day is a national effort to restore ecosystems and strengthen climate resilience. “It is a call for every Kenyan to take part in securing a greener, more sustainable future,” she says.

Mazingira Day was officially made a public holiday on April 24, 2024, when President William Ruto signed the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, 2024 into law. The amendment replaced Utamaduni Day with Mazingira Day, now observed annually on October 10. It’s a day dedicated to conservation, tree planting, and climate action—aligned with Kenya’s goal to plant 15 billion trees by 2032.

But every Mazingira Day should be more than a ceremony. It should be a reckoning. A reminder. A renewal.

It should be a day where every human becomes a steward of the soil, a guardian of the green, and a voice for the voiceless earth.

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