The City of Kigali has announced plans to plant over 3 million trees along roadways and in homes over the next five years, involving the youth in this initiative, which will include monitoring the trees as they grow.

Officials in Kigali state that under the program called “Igiti cyanjye (MyTree),” the youth will be given trees to plant, and there will be follow-up on their growth, with the tree owner visiting regularly to care for and water them until they mature.

During a youth volunteer day in Gahanga on Saturday, October 12, 2024, Antoine Mutsinzi, the Kicukiro District Executive Administrator (DEA), said, “(For the tree) if possible, write your name on it.”

Mutsinzi noted that during plantation of trees, they are starting with the major road leading to Bugesera but hoping to plant trees throughout Kicukiro District, along roads and in residents’ yards.

Emma Claudine Ntirenganya, the spokesperson for the City of Kigali, mentioned that trees planted across the city should include fruit-bearing varieties to help fight malnutrition.

“People living near the roads need to ensure there are trees between them and the road, as they must maintain a distance of 20 meters from the road,” with that space designated for grassland with trees.

She stated that there will be plans to visit the planted trees to assess how many have matured.

People in need a tree can go to the offices of districts of the City, where they can be directed to a nursery to purchase tree seedlings which cost starts from 500 Rwandan Francs.

The Ministry of Environment has a plan to ensure that 2 million hectares of land in the country are covered with forests by the year 2030.