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The Green Generation Initiative (GGI) has officially handed over a fully functional Permaculture Learning and Feeding Garden to Treeside Special School in Kasarani, Nairobi County.
This groundbreaking project integrates vertical hydroponic gardens, a food forest, and a chicken coop, aiming to address food security, nutrition, and climate education for children with special needs.
Founded by globally recognized environmentalist and young climate leader; Elizabeth Wathuti, O.G.W, GGI is an action-driven organisation working with children, young people, and local communities to protect, restore, and conserve the environment.
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This model project demonstrates how environmental solutions can simultaneously serve social and developmental needs in underserved school communities.
We’ve been working on an exciting project that is especially close to our hearts. Treeside Special School serves incredible children with special needs, and it brings us so much joy to see the real impact our initiative is already having.
The chicken coop is now providing over 6,000 eggs every month; ensuring a reliable protein supplement for the school’s feeding program. The vertical hydroponic garden, which saves up to 80% of water, is already producing harvests, and at peak, will yield up to 20 kilograms of a wide variety of nutritious vegetables per day.
GGI founder Elizabeth Wathuti planting fruits Trees at Tree Side Special School alongside other guests invited to the handover ceremony
This project is not just feeding children; it’s teaching them climate-smart agriculture and what climate action looks like as the project will also be a learning center for others and a Center of Excellence where surrounding communities can also learn from. And Founder, Green Generation Initiative.
The initiative also supports school income generation, with surplus eggs being sold to support operational needs.
The program is designed to be both sustainable and replicable, offering a model for other institutions seeking integrated solutions to food and climate challenges.
Elizabeth Wathuti founder Green Generation Initiative and team
We are so grateful, we can't explain. It is beyond us. The joy of seeing these children smile every time they go to that farm and look at that farm, knowing this is where our food comes from. At Treeside, we value life and education, but we face challenges.
Meeting the nutritional needs of our learners has always been difficult due to limited funds. This project has solved that problem. Thank you to the Green Generation Initiative—you have done us good. Keep on improving lives. It is from such acts that we see God in our midst. — Teacher Salome, Head Teacher, Treeside Special School
Chief Guest - Senator Asige the Secretary General of the Kenya Disabled Parliamentarians Association
Kris Maddens the Wife to Ambassador Peter Maddens of the Belgium Embassy
Ms Salome Prinipal Treeside Special School Kasarani
The event was graced by stakeholders from government including Senator Crystal Asige the Secretary General of the Kenya Disabled Parliamentarians Association, Ministries including the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture, and the National Treasury, civil society and development partners including Mercy Corps, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Safaricom Foundation, and Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF), the diplomatic corps including the Belgium and French Embassies in Kenya, and community leaders.
The Treeside project will now serve as a Centre of Excellence for climate-smart agriculture education for Eco-Clubs and schools across Nairobi and beyond.
The Green Generation Initiative (GGI) is an award-winning, youth-led environmental organisation based in Kenya, internationally renowned for driving and leading action on the ground on matters of conservation, restoration and environmental protection.
This article is published in association with GGI.