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GBM has provided a full project progress report detailing the ways in which the project will be implemented to meet
Planting a Legacy
WORLD U18 specific objectives, including: (a) the mobilization of local stakeholders in the project area to engage them with the
social responsibility of protecting the environment and restoring the functions of the natural ecosystem; (b) to build
capacity at identified school communities by reinforcing belts of amenity trees and greening underutilized free spaces
within and around the schools; (c) to build local communities’ capacities towards climate change resilience, adaptation
Hosting the IAAF World Under 18 Championships in Nairobi provided impetus to pursue an ambitious initiative to and mitigation strategies, and; (d) to document best practices and lessons learned for wider dissemination and
catalyse a national tree planting and environmental awareness project amongst Kenyan youth. The goal of planting replication.
100,000 trees on behalf of the event was set forth with support from the highest offices of the national government
and the IAAF. To accomplish the mission, the LOC partnered with various government agencies and contracted with This project closely aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal
the Green Belt Movement (GBM). The Green Belt Movement is a non-governmental organization that carries forward a number 15, which focuses on managing forests sustainably, halting and reversing
mission of national and international reforestation initiated in Kenya in the 1970’s, and which resulted in the planting land and natural habitat degradation, successfully combating desertification and
of over 51 million trees to-date . stopping biodiversity loss.
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Why Trees? While the IAAF WU18 Championships have now come and gone, a broader legacy has been sown in its wake.
Organizations that assisted in the project feasibility study and implementation, in addition to the Greenbelt Movement,
Deforestation is a significant contributor to global climate change. When trees are felled, they release the carbon they include Kenya Defense Forces, the Ministry of Education, teachers and civil servants from many educational institutions
store into the atmosphere, and fewer forests mean less ability to store carbon. Forests provide habitat for more than 80 in Nairobi, and the Kenya Forest Service, all of whom will carry the work forward.
percent of terrestrial plants and animals, but deforestation destroys those habitats, making it a primary cause for the
extinction of several thousand rainforest species each year. The biggest driver of deforestation is agriculture, with large The Council for Responsible Sport recognizes and commends the significance of this ambitious project. “The impactful
swaths of rainforests cleared to make way for the planting of crops such as soybeans, palm trees, and cocoa or to raise reforestation initiative set in motion by the many stakeholders involved with the hosting of the final edition of the IAAF
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beef cows on pasture. Paper and paper products and development for dwellings are further reasons for deforestation . World U18 Championships in Nairobi does not end with the closing ceremonies of that exciting event. Rather, the
leadership shown by the investment in this project by the LOC and its governmental partners alongside the IAAF has
Trees contribute to environment well-being by providing oxygen, improving air quality, creating shade and thus heat served to create a platform upon which many future events will now have the opportunity to engage when they come
amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil, preventing erosion, and supporting wildlife. During the process of to Kenya. The example, and the bar, have been set high,” said Michele Grossman, board chair of the Council.
photosynthesis, trees take in carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen we breathe.

With the IAAF WU18 Championships approaching, GBM made a clarion call for action by all Kenyans who would
hear it, “Stop the talk and walk the walk towards the 10 percent tree cover in all the public and community spaces.
Start by planting at least ten trees to absorb the carbon dioxide we each exhale.” Another goal of the project was to
raise the environmental consciousness of Kenyan youth to be empowered as
environmental stewards.

The project was launched at Moi International Sports Complex by planting
3,000 indigenous trees at the ‘Global Legacy Forest’ where all Athletes, IAAF
Delegates, LOC Family and VIP’s planted trees to commemorate the fete.
In early July, approximately 100,000 seedlings were distributed, along with
planting support and educational discussions led by GBM to 29 primary and
secondary schools in Nairobi. Trees have also begun to be planted to restore
100 Hectares of degraded area of Dundori Forest with completion set for June
2018 and several years of maintenance included in the scope of work.
Watering of a newly planted seedling at Moi International Sports Complex, July IAAF WU18 Championships athletes use a break in competition to plant trees in
Initial planning discussions considered the feasibility of giving a free ticket and 2017. Photo courtesy LOC. the new ‘Global Forest’ at Moi International Sports Complex, July 2017. Photo
courtesy LOC.
transport to the WU18 event for each student that planted a tree on behalf
of the project. The logistics of such an endeavor proved challenging, and the
matter was resolved when President Uhuru Kenyatta declared that the event “The leadership shown by the investment in this project by the
would be free and open to all. Transportation and food were provided to LOC and its governmental partners alongside the IAAF has served
approximately 5,000 local youth over the course of the five-day event who
likely would not otherwise have been able to arrange attendance. to create a platform upon which many future events will now
have the opportunity to engage when they come to Kenya. The
(Continued on next page)
Gr example, and the bar, have been set high.”
Gr
Greenbelt Movement Board Chair Wanjira Mathai eenbelt Movement Board Chair Wanjira Mathai eenbelt Movement Board Chair Wanjira Mathai
(left) plants a seedling alongside IAAF WU18s LOC
Head of Operations, Regina Gachora. July 2017.
Photo courtesy LOC
1 “Tree Planting and Water Harvesting.” Tree Planting and Water Harvesting | The Green Belt Movement. Michele Grossman
http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/what-we-do/tree-planting-for-watersheds
Chair, Council for Responsible Sport
188 | ACTIVITIES AND OCCURENCES DURING WORLD U18 CHAMPIONSHIPS
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