By JULIUS MBALUTO

Karen Nganga might not have spoken in the last Cop26(UN climate change conference) held in Scotland but her practical approach to protecting the environment has put her on the global spotlight. At the age of 9 years and with the help from other people, she has planted 30,000 trees in Kenya across counties including Kisumu, Muranga, Nandi, Taita Taveta among others.

Karen is today a natural environment conservationist. Karen’s commitment and her international exposure gained her recognition and was honoured by Team Environment Kenya as their international brand ambassador in 2020, a position she is highly proud of.

Karen and her supportive family

How did her journey start? At the age of 5 years, she was enrolled in a modelling school, Little Miss Kenya in Nairobi. Her parent s had realized that she was keen in modelling as at home, she would pose for photos and catwalk as well.  It was at the modelling school where children were given assignment to work on diverse projects from culture, music, poetry, environment and many more.

Karen chose to work on a environment project arguing that environment affects everyone. Her key drive was recycling where the use of plastics would be reduced. She competed with others in the school and teachers considered all projects with their criteria being the child who was more creative in their chosen project. Well, Karen’s eco project won.

She had designed a dress made of recycled plastics and drinking straws that caught the judges eyes in the competition. It is here where Karen won a place to represent Kenya globally in Ternarife, Spain in 2018 where 40 countries were in participation. In Spain, Karen recited a moving monologue on how plastic pollution was killing people and the marine lives. Her monologue won her the silver international trophy.

Karen is now only 9 years old, a grade 4 girl in a school at Harvest View Academy, Embakasi, Nairobi, Kenya. She is the youngest Cabinet Secretary for environment to be elected in her school. In all ways, she is an environmental conservationist, an upcoming climate activist and a runway model where she models for environment.

According to her father, Henry Nganga who is a social worker, Karen's journey to where she is hasn't come without challenges. Balancing her academics and conservation work has always needed a well thought plan. Some of Karen's conservation activities can be expensive coming within a very short time to plan financially especially to the international travel as she cannot travel by herself.

Unfortunately, the relevant authorities such as the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage do not sponsor talented children like Karen. Every penny spent towards all these events and activities comes from parents. This really doesn't encourage or motivate talented individuals. 

However, Karen and her parents are undeterred. The journey continues. Karen narrates her experience in Spain where she had a chance to learn more about waste management. For example, she found that in Tenerife, all bins were separated for different wastes and the country used biodegradable bottles which are good for the environment.

After her journey to Spain, her passion on environmental conservation grew by leaps and bounds. She established her 3Rs club in her school. Karen and fellow 3Rs members in school collects plastics together for recycling. She established collection cages in school where all these plastics are put together before being collected for recycling. She sometimes also works with her 3Rs club out of school to collect plastics in her neighbourhood.

Karen has a registered organisation under her name; Karyne Forte Limited which Karyne Forte Environmental Conservation operates under. Karen's idea of this organisation was born as a result of her experience during the time she was planting trees across the country. Karen says she wanted to make sure no organisation or individuals run out of tree seedlings while on tree planting missions. She says they always were short of tree seedlings supply.

Karen a winner.

Karyne Forte Environmental Conservation aim and mission is to help increase forest cover which Karen believes will have many benefits including improved rainfall and fresh air for all. Karyne Forte Environmental Conservation, where Karen is the CEO and a director, has a tree seedling growing project with over 30K seedlings. With over 15 different species of trees including beautification trees, Karen believes her organisation is in the right track.

She employs 1 full time worker and two casual laborers. She officially launched her project recently and was happy to showcase her work to the public. Karen says KEFRI and NETFUND Kenya were present, and she is glad for the support they have continually given her tree nursery project.  Karen is proud that many of her friends are learning from her. And they are planning to start their own tree growing projects. Karen says it's mother earth who will be benefiting if more and more people started growing trees.

Does her conservation activities affect her academic work? Not quite, her parents say that her  academic performance has continued to improve. Her conservation work rhymes well with her academics. She has her own way of balancing the two. She says that when she is having an exciting activity in her conservation or modelling work, she feels happier at school sharing her experience with other pupils. This motivates her in her schoolwork too.

With the CBC syllabus, much of what is being taught is what Karen has been doing. In a way , some of it is just like an extension of her work. Karen has been elected the youngest CS environment in her school. This again is a recognition of her efforts. Her school is supportive of her work which gives her the confidence that she is doing the right thing.

Apart from tree planting, Karen is an upcoming climate activist. She has appeared severally on national TV and newspapers sensitising to the public the best ways to conserve the environment. She uses her known profile to educate the public on the dangers of neglecting our environment. She has worked closely with the Cabinet Secretary for Environment where she says she has gained experience on matters environment.

Karen is the youngest finalist in the UK based MTM Awards based in Bristol, Northern England on the environmental category award. This is an international award given to an outstanding person in the community worldwide for their commitment and efforts in environmental conservation.

It provides another chance for Karen to raise the Kenyan flag internationally again on matters environment. Karen likens this event to the Tenerife in 2018 trip where she won her first international award. She says winning this award would be a good thing but insists that it's not the award that is important. She hopes to use that platform to expedite her climate agenda.

She hopes to use every opportune time to highlight the dangers our planet is facing such us deforestation and excessive pollution. Karen is positive that this   November 2022 event in Bristol will be a game changer in her fight on climate change. Karen believes that climate change will affect the children more. The children will live longer in this planet than the adult population. A fact that Karen uses to encourage more children to join in the fight for better environment from the governments. She says her role model is noble peace prize winner, Wangari Maathai. However, Karen goes further to say that young environmentalists and climate activists such as Greta Thurnberg really encourages her.

Karen aspires to become a doctor. She believes a safer and cleaner environment is good for our wellbeing. Fresh air with less pollution will make her work as a doctor in future easier as less people will be falling ill. It is still early for Karen to decide whether to have an environmental related career in the future.

Karen's modelling and environmental conservation goes together. She mainly models for the environment. Her first international environmental award was initially because of her eco project which she did in her modelling project. Her modelling gives her the courage to speak in public. A quality she equally needs to speak in public on environmental related issues.

She has several titles in modelling including Little Miss Kenya 2018, Princess of Africa 2019, Little Miss United World 2019.

Karen's future goal is to get more and more children emulate her work. She believes that children will live in this planet the longest. Therefore, the need for children to be on the frontline in environmental conservation. She believes and says this time and again that we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, but we borrow it from our children.