Team sets out to reclaim City Park's lost history
City Park Community Forest Association Chairman Kamau Thuo standing next to the grave of the former Governor of Kenya Robert Thorne Coryndon 16.
What you need to know:
- City Park Forest, established in 1921 as a zoological garden before being declared a public park in 1925, was a sight to behold then, covering 120 hectares and filled with about 988 species of flora and fauna in the Parklands area of Nairobi.
- But as decades passed, the luscious forest diminished both in size and stature as private developers gradually invaded it. Currently covering 63 hectares, it is barely half its initial size.
The place where Kenya’s former Vice-President Joseph Murumbi and his wife Sheila, Kenya’s colonial Governor Sir Robert Coryndon (1923-1925) and fiery politician Pio Gama Pinto were buried currently lies in ruins and strikes the heart with grief.
City Park Forest, established in 1921 as a zoological garden before being declared a public park in 1925, was a sight to behold then, covering 120 hectares and filled with about 988 species of flora and fauna in the Parklands area of Nairobi.
But as decades passed, the luscious forest diminished both in size and stature as private developers gradually invaded it. Currently covering 63 hectares, it is barely half its initial size.
But all hope is not lost. For the past five years, a team led by former Karura Ward MCA Kamau Thuo alias Fiu Nifiu has been working tirelessly to protest against the encroachment of the forest and restore its lost glory.
Their struggles bore fruit when President Uhuru Kenyatta declared City Park a protected site in June 2020. He directed the Kenya Forest Service to work with a community forest association to conserve the wetland area.
They achieved another milestone when their petition for a single title deed for the entire park to be processed by the State was granted.
Last December, the City Park Forest Community Forest Association (CFA) was born, with Mr Thuo as the lead. The association has a membership of 157 locals drawn from Parklands, Pangani, Eastleigh and Mathare areas.
“We have managed to increase the number of tree nurseries and many sites mapped for bee-keeping. It is the locals who are running it” he told Healthy Nation.
The CFA is also working on re-creating the Maze, (Rat- Trap Game) famous in the 90s where visitors dropped in the middle of the forest had to find their way back to the meeting point.
Additionally, the gravesite of the World War II heroes, which had been long forgotten, filled with shrubs and thorns, has been cleared.
The crumbling chapel at the gravesite has also been fortified and repainted.
“We have also contacted experts to mark out nature trails that visitors will use when touring the park,” he said. While they are proud of their milestones, underfunding is a great obstacle to rebuilding the park. For instance, their plan to fence the entire forest to keep thugs at bay has hit a snag.
“We want to restore this park to its lost glory. A lot of history lies here. We know the potential of this park and I appeal to all well- wishers who believe in the conservation of natural ecosystems to join us in these efforts,” he said.
