Arriving at the end of KenGen Masinga Power Station’s , 30 young environmentalists from Kamathitu Secondary School, Mwingi County, gazed in amazement at the massive machinery and rumbling turbines as they prepared for their tour of the power plant on 29 September.
The students, accompanied by their Green Teachers William Mukundi and Peter Mutua, Principal Ruth Maundu, and Mr. Osman Omar, the Sub-county Director of Education, were on an educational tour of a power plant, having emerged position three in Phase V of the Schools Green Initiative Challenge tree planting competition.
Despite the din, the group was keen to catch every word from the technicians, asking questions and scribbling notes as they explained how the power plant’s control panels work.
Kamathitu Secondary School recorded the third highest in Phase III of the Schools’ Green Initiative challenge tree planting competition, beating 99 other schools in Embu, Machakos and Kitui counties to earn the trip.
The GIC is an afforestation project structured as a competition between participating schools. It involves schools planting indigenous tree for multiple benefits not limited to climate change mitigation, while creating awareness on environmental conservation and empowering communities.
Currently involving more than 600 schools at Embu, Kitui, and Machakos counties, the GIC is implemented by the KenGen Foundation in partnership with Better Globe Forestry, KenGen PLC, and other corporate partners. Due to the extreme arid weather in the project area, the GIC is dubbed as a challenge as the schools also compete in employing tree-growing innovations such as mulching and drip irrigation to earn more points against their competitors.
Kamathitu was also awarded with a 10,000-liter water tank, cash prizes and certificates.
Masinga dam is the main reservoir in 7-Forks cascade with a capacity of 1.56 billion cubic metres of water and is therefore used for water regulation for power production throughout the year. Two vertical Kaplan turbines drive two generators capable of generating 40 MW of power.
The students were later treated to lunch at Megawatt Café, KenGen Hydro Plaza and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying themselves at the Matendeni club swimming pool.
“I can’t thank the KenGen Foundation and the Green Initiative Challenge project partners for making our day”, said Rachel Mbinya, a form four green student and member of the school’s environment club. “Kamathitu Primary School has something to smile about as we head home from this trip”.
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–Emmanuel Murgor
Communication Attachee
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