Family Group Foundation, KFS Partner to Restore Ngong Hills Forest Ecosystem

The Family Group Foundation has partnered with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to support restoration efforts in the Ngong Hills Forest Ecosystem through the Foundation’s ongoing development of a one-million-tree seedling nursery project.

The partnership, formalised through a three-year Framework for Collaboration, will focus on enhancing seedling production capacity, supporting tree-growing initiatives and strengthening community participation in forest conservation within the Ngong Hills Ecosystem.

The collaboration builds on restoration efforts that began in 2021, with the Foundation having invested over 18 million so far to support the restoration of the landscape. Since then, more than 20,000 indigenous seedlings have been planted, with 70 acres under active restoration.

“As a Foundation, our target is to scale restoration efforts across the full 240-acre target landscape by 2030. This partnership provides a stronger platform to move beyond individual tree-planting activities towards long-term ecosystem restoration. The Kenya Forest Service is key because they bring the technical expertise and institutional mandate required to manage forest ecosystems. Together, our strengths create a stronger platform for lasting climate action impact,” said The Family Group Foundation Executive Director John Waimiri.

The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry estimates that the Ngong Hills Forest requires approximately one million trees, alongside fencing and geo-mapping, to support restoration and address degradation and encroachment.

“Today we mark an important step in advancing forest conservation and landscape restoration. Our focus goes beyond growing trees to also supporting the communities living around these landscapes. We therefore value this partnership as it demonstrates what can be achieved when government and the private sector work together towards a common environmental and community development goal,” said the Kenya Forest Service Chief Conservator of Forests Alex Lemarkoko.

The partnership will build on KFS’s Model Tree Nursery blueprint, which is designed to establish high-capacity, standardised nurseries that can significantly increase quality seedling production.

This initiative supports Kenya’s broader climate action and tree-growing agenda, including the Government’s 15 billion Tree Growing Programme, while demonstrating the role that partnerships between government, the private sector and communities can play in accelerating ecosystem restoration.

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