Green teachers from schools participating in Phase IV of the Schools Green Initiative Challenge have set up WhatsApp groups to facilitate the sharing of information and real time updates on their progress in the tree planting competition.

The groups were formed after a three-day capacity building session for school heads and green teachers held at the project counties of Embu, Kitui and Machakos from 26 – 28 September. KenGen Foundation, together with project partners Better Globe Forestry and Bamburi Cement organized the workshop in order to review the progress of the afforestation project.

During the workshops, KenGen Foundation’s Communications Officer Ernest Nyamasyo demonstrated to the participants the benefits of sharing information and pictures of activities related to the competition. He also tutored them on how to write micro-blogs for the different social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook.

“During the last capacity building workshop held in February, I realized that some of the schools were facing challenges that could be addressed immediately if communicated earlier”, says Ernest.

“When we did a progress review to ascertain the survival rates of the seedlings we’d earlier distributed, some schools recorded low percentages compared to others. I noticed that some of the schools were implementing the project in the wrong way, and that is why the idea of having real time updates came about”, he adds.

The capacity building workshops are usually very interactive. Green teachers from schools recording higher survival tree seedlings rates usually present to their peers what measures they implemented for their success. Those who record low survival rates also share the challenges they face.

“The fact that the GIC participants also view the project as a sustainable way of greening their schools and not as a competition per se, encouraged the idea of starting the WhatsApp groups’, says Ernest.

So far the response has been encouraging. Several of the green teachers are very enthusiastic, demonstrating how the pupils attend to the woodlots. Others have been quick to ask for advice where they think they’re going wrong. The project’s Monitoring and Evaluation officers play a key role as administrators to the groups and often guide the teachers on best practices in nurturing the tree seedlings.

“The fact that the green teachers can see the progress of their peers encourages them to also share what they are doing at their schools. These WhatsApp groups have created a unique network of teachers committed to the tree-planting project”, says Ernest.

Some innovative teachers have also been sending photos of their woodlots and a brief suammry of activities to the Foundation’s Facebook page, a clear indication of their commitment to the project.

“The WhatsApp groups are also avenues for the Foundation to share its latest activities from its website blog. This has seen an increased interest in the Foundation’s other projects, further building the KenGen brand”, he concludes.

Ernest Nyamasyo is KenGen Foundation’s Communications Officer. He is responsible for communicating the Foundation’s activities and impacts; media and public relations; graphic design and branding; website and social media management.