Playful Kolb’s monkeys, also known as Sykes’ monkeys, seem to be having a “face reveal” for their newest family member. Mothers are highly protective of their young, often carrying them on their bellies and allowing them to play only when they feel the environment is safe. They feed on fruits, flowers, and leaves from trees and shrubs, as well as birds’ eggs, invertebrates, and their larvae, which they methodically pluck from loose bark.
After rain, molluscs of various species appear in large numbers amid the forest undergrowth. Most are snails or slugs that feed on the leaves, stems, soft bark, and fruits of forest plants, or on decaying vegetable matter on the forest floor.
This is the Giant African Snail, displaying its beauty at KFEET office block. Snails are prone to desiccation over dry periods therefore they spend much of their lives aestivating within their shells under leaf-falls, where they lay their eggs. Snails provide a rich food-source for many forest creatures, including predatory insects, reptiles, birds, rodents and other mammals.
Through KFEET’S education programs, we educate kids on the vital role each animal category plays in the ecosystem.
Getrude Rop,
Admin Assistant.
21st of March marks the global observance of the International Day of Forests (IDF), a day dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of forests and the vital role they play in sustaining life on Earth. Each year, a unique theme highlights a different aspect of forests and their global impact. In 2024, the theme was “Forests and Innovation,” followed by “Forests and Food” in 2025. This year, the theme is “Forests and Economies.”
In the lead-up to this year’s celebrations, Karura Forest Environmental Education Trust (KFEET) was delighted to host a group of learners from Mbagathi Road Comprehensive School on Monday, 16th March 2026. Their visit was generously sponsored by New Forests Kenya, whose support made this meaningful experience possible.
This year’s theme provided an excellent opportunity to explore the critical connection between forests and the economy. Using Karura Forest as a living classroom, the learners discovered how forests contribute to local economies through tourism, job creation, and sustainable resource management. From guides and conservation staff to community-based initiatives, forests support livelihoods while safeguarding natural heritage.
Equally important is the link between a healthy environment and a thriving economy. Forests like Karura play a crucial role in improving both physical and mental well-being. Time spent in nature has been shown to reduce stress, boost immune systems, and enhance overall health benefits, which ultimately translate into more productive and resilient communities.
Karura Forest also provides essential ecosystem services for the city of Nairobi. It acts as a natural air purifier, contributing fresh oxygen to the urban environment. The rivers that flow through the forest also benefit from natural filtration, improving water quality before continuing downstream to support communities beyond the forest.
During their visit, the learners from Mbagathi Road Comprehensive actively engaged with these concepts. They created thoughtful and inspiring posters promoting conservation and environmental stewardship. A guided forest walk allowed them to experience firsthand the beauty and biodiversity of Karura, deepening their appreciation for its rich flora and fauna.
We extend our sincere gratitude to New Forests Kenya for sponsoring this visit and for joining the learners in this early commemoration of the International Day of Forests. Together, such partnerships help nurture the next generation of environmental stewards and reinforce the message that protecting our forests is not only vital for nature, but also for our economies and our future.
Julie Kimutai
Manager, KFEET
At times, when we are hard at work, it might be easy to forget that our offices are nestled right in the heart of Karura Forest. Fortunately, the monkeys are never far away and are always ready to remind us of that delightful fact.
Karura Forest is home to two fascinating species of monkeys. The first of these is the Sykes monkey (Cercopithecus albogularis), also referred to as the white-throated monkey or Samango monkey. This lively and curious species can be described as quite extroverted. Native to regions stretching from Ethiopia to South Africa, including parts of the south and east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sykes monkeys are easily recognisable due to the distinctive white patch on their throat and upper chest, as well as their grizzled cap.
Sykes monkeys are active, energetic, curious and highly social, living in large troops. They can often be spotted around the KFEET Centre, particularly in the morning hours. Their diet is widely varied, including young leaves, flowers, seeds, insects, bark, gum, fungi, and occasionally small vertebrates, they are true foragers at heart!
The second monkey species found in Karura Forest is the colobus monkey, a species with a particularly interesting history here. Originally residents of the forest many years ago, this species had completely disappeared. However, thanks to a translocation effort, some families were reintroduced to Karura Forest and have been thriving ever since. Unlike the Sykes monkeys, the colobus are highly arboreal, preferring the upper forest canopy. The colobus species subsists on plant matter including leaves, seeds, fruits and flowers.
The colobus are rarely seen by visitors to the forest, but thanks to camera traps and close monitoring by the Friends of Karura Forest Science and Research department, we know that they are doing well in the deeper, quieter parts of the forest. You can therefore imagine what a pleasant surprise it was for one of our KFEET team (Getrude) to recently spot a few amazing colobus monkeys jumping majestically from tree to tree just adjacent to the KFEET Centre! A rare and beautiful sight indeed.
So, as we get engrossed in our day-to-day tasks here at KFEET, we have frequent reminders that at the heart of the forest, it’s a monkeys’ world. We’re just lucky enough to be part of it! 🐒
Julie Kimutai
Manager, KFEET
Every year on 2nd February, the world commemorates World Wetlands Day, a day set aside to raise awareness about the importance of the world’s wetlands and the vital role they play in our planet. Wetlands include areas such as marshes, swamps, bogs and mangroves and are crucial for healthy ecosystems. They play an important role in preventing flooding and also act as carbon sinks, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. It is believed that wetlands support up to 40% of the world’s biodiversity, yet, alarmingly, the earth is losing wetlands at a much faster rate than it is losing its forests.
Karura Forest is home to diverse ecosystems including natural and exotic forest areas, grassland areas, and crucially, wetlands. There are 5 rivers that flow through Karura Forest: The Ruaka River, Gitathuru River, Karura River, Thigiri River and Mathare River. These rivers are crucial in supporting the neighbouring communities, but are also an important source of water for the flora and fauna in the forest. The areas surrounding these rivers form wetlands where a diverse range of plant species grow, and where many animals also thrive.
In view of this, the Friends of Karura Forest Research Department organised a river cleanup on Monday 2nd February to commemorate World Wetlands Day. This important exercise, organised by Peter Fundi of FKF, brought together staff from Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Friends of Karura Forest (FKF), and Karura Forest Environmental Education Trust (KFEET), who joined hands in a clean up of Ruaka River. The staff were joined by a group of 64 students from New Dawn Education Centre.
The cleanup exercise was highly successful, though the rubbish collected from within the river indicated an increase in dumping from human settlements. Debris including shoes, clothes, blankets and plastic waste was retrieved from the river. It goes without saying that such waste causes pollution and endangers the flora and fauna that rely on these rivers for their very existence.
Given the rate at which the Earth is losing its wetlands, and the devastating effects of their loss to our environment, it is becoming increasingly clear that heightened sensitisation is needed to ensure that all communities living along the river courses are aware of the importance of these rivers. Communities outside the forest also need to organise cleanups upstream and downstream to help mitigate the problem of dumping from settlements.
Well done to all the staff of Karura Forest, and to the wonderful, inspirational students from New Dawn Education Centre, for joining hands for this important initiative. Together, let us speak up for our wetlands!
Julie Kimutai
Manager, KFEET
Today, 26 January, we mark International Environmental Education Day. As we do so, we reflect on some of the accomplishments of the past year while also looking ahead to new goals for this year (2026). At KFEET, we remain firmly committed to advancing environmental education through our diverse programmes, which aim to inspire awareness, responsibility, and action among learners of all ages.
Through our Outreach Programme, generously supported by Friends of Karura Forest, we have been able to bring learners from under-resourced schools to Karura Forest to experience nature firsthand, learn about the environment, and understand the importance of conservation. In 2025 alone, we were able to host 2,611 learners from 30 schools through this programme. We look forward to hosting more learners in 2026.
In addition to our outreach efforts, we were delighted to welcome learners from private and international schools who visited the forest and the education centre to meet environmental education objectives aligned with their respective curricula. We were also especially encouraged by a noticeable increase in visits to the KFEET Centre from tertiary institutions, including universities and colleges, reflecting a growing interest in experiential and field-based environmental learning.
In 2025, the KFEET Centre received a total of 12,822 students from primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions, and interacting with each of them was a genuine joy and a rewarding experience!
Last year, we also launched the KFEET Club, an initiative aimed at encouraging schools and pupils to establish micro-forests within their own school compounds. Through this programme, learners experience the joy of planting trees, caring for them, and watching them grow, while knowing they are playing an active role in greening their environment. The initiative was launched in two pilot schools, and we look forward to expanding it to more schools in 2026. We are excited to see how the programme will grow and develop in the year ahead.
As we mark this important day, we celebrate the vital role of environmental education in shaping informed, responsible stewards of our natural world.
Happy International Environmental Education Day!
Julie Kimutai
At Karura Forest, we kicked off the year the best way we know how, by rolling up our sleeves and caring for nature. On the morning of Thursday, 8th January 2026, our staff came together for a river clean-up exercise, reaffirming our commitment to protecting the lifelines that keep this forest alive.
Did you know that five rivers flow through Karura Forest? These are Karura River, Ruaka River, Gitathuru River, Thigiri River and Mathare River.
The Karura River begins its journey in Limuru and flows through the forest, giving us the much-loved Karura Falls along the way. The Ruaka River, which originates from the Ruaka area, also boasts a beautiful waterfall. Gitathuru River forms the southern boundary of the Sigiria section of the forest, while Thigiri River marks the northern boundary on the same side. The Mathare (Mathari) River flows south of Muthaiga Road before eventually joining the Nairobi River at Dandora.
These rivers are far more than just flowing water, they are places of calm beauty, beacons for many visitors who attest that standing by the rivers or waterfalls is one of the most peaceful experiences in the forest.
They support the forest’s plants and wildlife, provide habitats for water birds, amphibians, insects, and countless other organisms, helping to maintain the delicate balance of Karura’s ecosystems. The discovery of a few families of the African Clawless Otter has been a very exciting development for us at Karura. This species is the largest freshwater otter species in the world, and their presence in Karura’s rivers is a good indicator that the rivers are in recovery and have a good diversity of aquatic fauna to support this otter species. In Kenya, the African Clawless Otter can also be found in areas such as Laikipia, Masai Mara and Meru.
As the rivers travel beyond their sources, they pass through areas of human settlement. Sadly, this often means that wastewater, plastics, and other litter are dumped into the rivers. Over time, rubbish builds up in slower-moving sections, blocking natural flow and threatening the plants and animals that depend on clean water to survive.
That’s why, about twice a year, the Karura Forest family, staff, partners, and passionate environmental champions, come together to clean up the rivers and reduce this damage. This year’s clean-up was organised by the Friends of Karura (FKF) Research Department who coordinated all Karura staff, including teams from Friends of Karura (FKF), the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), and the Karura Forest Environmental Education Trust (KFEET), all working side by side for a healthier forest. This initiative focused mainly on clean-up of Mathare River.
Well done, and many thanks to Peter Fundi of FKF for organising and leading this very important exercise. Protecting Karura’s rivers is a shared responsibility, and everyone is invited to be part of the solution. We look forward to having many more volunteers join us for the next clean-up, and to help us to amplify conservation advocacy by sensitizing everyone on the importance of reducing plastic use in our daily lives, disposing of waste responsibly, and speaking up for our rivers wherever we live. Every small action counts today, and for future generations.
Julie Kimutai
Manager, KFEET
On Thursday, 13th November 2025, the KFEET team had the privilege of visiting the Momo Pencils factory for a hands-on learning experience in recycled pencil production. As educators who regularly teach recycling as a key method of environmental conservation, we were excited to witness the full process in action, and Momo Pencils did not disappoint. From the moment we arrived, the team welcomed us warmly and took us through every stage of transforming old newspapers into vibrant, classroom-ready pencils.
The process was fascinating. We watched as newspapers were carefully cut to size and wrapped tightly around graphite inserts. The rolled strips were compacted, cut, and sealed, gradually taking on the unmistakable shape of a pencil. We then learned how each pencil is polished, covered with a protective film, and even customised for clients as required. By the end, what began as discarded newspapers had become a high-quality writing tool. The finished products were impressive, showcasing a wide range of bright, colourful pencils.
What most impressed us was not just the craftsmanship, but the heart behind the work. Momo Pencils is doing phenomenal work in recycling and repurposing paper waste into something practical and beautiful. Beyond pencil production, their commitment to environmental conservation extends even further, including donations of fruit tree seedlings to schools as part of their ongoing support for tree planting initiatives. Their efforts are a powerful reminder that sustainability can be approached creatively and practically.
We left the factory feeling both inspired and encouraged. It was a joy meeting with a like-minded team so committed to environmental protection, and this helped reaffirm the importance of what we teach. As we concluded our visit, the team at Momo Pencils generously presented us with a donation of several pencils, which we will proudly share with our outreach pupils when schools resume in January 2026.
Our visit was an educational and energizing reminder that recycling is not just a concept, but is a real, tangible process that ordinary people can carry out to make an extraordinary difference. As we continue our mission to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards, experiences like this empower us to teach from a place of deeper knowledge, passion, and authenticity.
By Julie Kimutai,
Manager, KFEET
On Tuesday 4th November 2025, the KFEET staff honoured to join the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and Friends of Karura Forest (FKF) for a tree-growing ceremony marking the launch of the short rains tree growing season – Karura Edition 2025.
The exercise was presided over by Joyce Nthuku, the Nairobi Regional Forest Conservator (KFS), who commended the team for their continued dedication to environmental protection. She noted that the restoration efforts are part of the government’s directive to achieve 15 billion tree cover by 2032.
Karura Forest, being the fourth largest within her region, showcases the beauty and value of well-managed urban forests. She reiterated that tree planting is only the beginning, emphasizing that care, monitoring, and protection are among the eleven key concepts guiding sustainable tree-growing practices.
The joint team planted 1,000 tree seedlings as part of ongoing efforts to restore and conserve the forest ecosystem. Mrs. Nthuku encouraged forest stations to include fruit tree seedlings in their nurseries, noting the growing public interest in them.
Elly Kogei, FKF Restoration Officer, shared that the 1,000 seedlings planted were scientifically selected from 76 native species, with 45 species chosen to best suit the selected ecosystem. The FKF Research Team Lead Peter Fundi highlighted the significance of the exercise in supporting the Black-and-White Colobus Monkeys, whose feeding behavior and family patterns are closely monitored within the forest.
Overall incharge of Karura forest ecotourism Mr. Edward Munene, added that the seedlings are available from FKF, KFS, and NCBA nurseries for upcoming planting activities in the Sigiria Block, targeting an additional 4,000 seedlings.
Among the attendees were FKF Board Members led by Prof. Karanja Njoroge, Chantal Mariotte,Sanzi Dietz, community members, forest scouts, Karura Station Manager, and Mrs. Kenya Forest 2025, among others.
By Getrude Rop,
Admin Assistant, KFEET.
This week, KFEET was carpeted in purple, a breathtaking sight created by the Jacaranda trees shedding their blossoms across our compound. Inspired by this seasonal spectacle, we decided to take a closer look at a few of the iconic species gracing our grounds, and uncover some fascinating facts about them.
Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia)
Jacaranda mimosifolia, originally from South America, is an exotic species that was introduced to Kenya in the early 1920s with the purpose being to beautify the emerging settlements. A century later, these trees have become a familiar and beloved part of the Nairobi landscape. Deciduous in nature, Jacarandas burst into a vibrant display of purple blooms each October, before carpeting the ground with their fallen flowers about a month later. As the blossoms fade, the tree rejuvenates by sprouting fresh leaves and seed pods as it prepares for the next flowering season. Jacarandas typically grow to heights of around 10meters, with some getting up to heights of 15 meters, or even more. They have an average lifespan of around 50 years.
Pride of Bolivia (Tipuana tipu)
Not to be outdone by the Jacaranda’s purple show, the tipuana tipu, commonly known as the Pride of Bolivia, has been adding its own golden touch to KFEET. This exotic, semi-deciduous species, native to Bolivia, has recently shed its brilliant yellow blossoms, adding a warm hue to the forest floor. The tipuana typically grows to heights 15-20 meters when fully mature, though in ideal conditions, it can reach an impressive 30 meters.
Calistemon citrinus (Bottlebrush)
The common name “bottlebrush” is really a fitting description for the unique and distinctive red flowers of the Calistemon citrinus, which is also currently in bloom within our grounds. Some bottlebrush species may have pink, mauve or even white flowers. This exotic species is native to Australia, but can also be found in temperate and subtropical regions. The evergreen bottlebrush commonly grows up as a shrub to heights of between 3 – 5 metres, but has been known to reach heights of up to 20 metres in some climates, especially when grown as a trained tree. It is a hardy and fast-growing plant.
Markhamia lutea
The Markhamia, also known as the Nile Tulip, or “Muu” in Kikuyu is an indigenous tropical African tree found in Kenya and other African countries like Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and The Democratic Republic of Congo. The tree can grow to heights of up to 30 meters tall, and local communities have long used its medicinal roots and leaves for the treatment of various ailments. When in bloom, as it is now, its flowers are bright yellow and “trumpet-shaped”, with red/orange stripes on the inside of the flowers. This drought-resistant tree is often found around homesteads, beloved because of the beautifying effect of its distinctive blossoms.
By Julie Kimutai,
Manager, KFEET
KFEET at 15:
The Karura Forest Environmental Education Trust (KFEET) marked a remarkable milestone last week on Thursday 16th October, 2025, 15 years of conservation education and community engagement! The anniversary celebration, themed “Stories in the Forest,” brought together children, teachers, and authors for a day of storytelling, discovery, and reflection on KFEET’s journey in nurturing environmental awareness among young learners.
The day began with cheerful arrivals as pupils from Huruma Hope Primary, Kamuiru Primary, and AEF Reuben gathered at the KFEET Centre.
Participants filled the auditorium and settled in for a lively storytelling session led by Wangari the Storyteller. Her brilliant performance, a story about the wiles of “Anansi the Spider”was absolutely delightful, and perfectly set the tone for the day’s theme, “Stories in the forest”.
After the enthralling session, the children had an opportunity to take part in a Round Robin Author Sessions, rotating between three interactive stations.
In the Meeting Room, Tracy Thomas, author of Karura at Night, shared fascinating insights into the secret life of the forest after dark.
In the Auditorium, Ian Omollo, author of Zingira, read his story to the learners, and spoke passionately about conservation and the role of young people in protecting the environment.
At the Clubhouse, Wangari the Storyteller shared some of her published stories, and encouraged children to exchange ideas.The sessions reflected the true spirit of KFEET, blending education, creativity, and environmental stewardship in a way that excites and empowers learners.
After a shared lunch, participants joined KFEET guides for a forest walk, where the morning’s stories came to life among the trees, butterflies, and birds of Karura. The walk, as always, offered a moment of connection with nature, with learning, and with each other.
As the event drew to a close, one message stood out clearly, KFEET’s work over the past 15 years has left a lasting imprint not only on the forest, but also on the hearts of countless children who have passed through its gates. “KFEET at 15: Stories in the Forest” was a celebration of the power of stories, always aiming to inspire the next generation of forest guardians.
Julie Kimutai
Manager, KFEET
The Karura Forest Environmental Education Trust — KFEET — was established in 2010 to promote environmental education and provide a centre for learning about forest ecosystems.
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