A Moment at Nairobi National Park and Nairobi Arboretum

While attending a workshop in Nairobi this week, I had an opportunity to visit the Nairobi National Park and the Nairobi Arboretum. For a nature lover, this was quite a special memorable experience for me.

Nairobi National Park

Nairobi National Park is a national park in Kenya that was established in 1946 about 7 km south of Nairobi. It is fenced on three sides, whereas the open southern boundary allows migrating wildlife to move between the park and the adjacent Kitengela plains. Herbivores gather in the park during the dry season.

Officially opened in 1946, Nairobi National Park was the first national park established in Kenya. The park covers an area of 117.21 km2 and is small in comparison to most of Africa’s national parks. There is electric fencing around the park’s northern, eastern, and western boundaries. Nairobi National Park is the main tourist attraction for visitors to Nairobi.

Nairobi Arboretum

The Arboretum was established in 1907 by Mr. Batiscombe, then Deputy Conservator of Forests, to try out introduced forestry trees for Kenya. It was gazetted as a national reserve in 1932 and in 1996 a title deed issued by Commissioner of land designating it as a public owned reserve. It was a trial plot for fast growing exotic tree species, to meet the high demand of fuel wood required for the newly constructed Kenya- Uganda railway line and thus help save Kenya’s indigenous forests.

An arboretum is a place holding living collection of plants for the purposes of scientific research, conservation, display and education. Nairobi Arboretum is a 30.4 hectares of wooded landscape, an oasis close to the heart of the city situated in the Kilimani area, about 3 km from city centre and adjacent to the State House. It is one of Nairobi’s few remaining green spaces. It has shaded walkways, picnic lawns and jogging trails.