Ondiri Wetlands, the hidden gem in Kikuyu Town

KNA by Xavier Brian

Ondiri wetlands is a secluded natural peat bog surrounded by lush greenery and crystal-clear waters that lies 200 meters south of Kikuyu town and 20km west of Nairobi Central Business district.

It covers an estimated area of about 34.5 hectares with a perimeter of about 3.3km, its waters are about 3-4 meters deep making it Kenya’s largest natural peat bog; these are dense wetlands filled with partially decayed vegetation that has accumulated over years, building an acidity that prevents the vegetation from fully decaying.

They are mainly located in cold temperate climate areas; a quality Kikuyu town and its environs is well known for.

Ondiri wetland gets its name from the English name “Old Lake” accrued from the white settlers after occupying the area during the colonial era

Nyongara River which is the main tributary of the Nairobi River sources its waters from Ondiri wetlands and has been the main and oldest source of piped water in Nairobi City.

In 2016, due to dilapidating conditions at the bog, Friends of Ondiri Wetland Kenya (FOWK) was founded to restore and protect the bog; they ran awareness campaigns, planted trees, and held community events aimed at restoring this geographical marvel.

Friends of Ondiri Wetlands Chief Coordinator David Wachoge affirms this saying due to the wetland’s strategic location on the highlands of Kikuyu Town, water from the Wetland trickles down and recharges the Kikuyu springs through an underground passage.

“This water is from the Aberdares and this is the first place where it resurfaces and diverges into many streams all of which run many projects,” says Wachoge pointing downstream to several projects, mainly greenhouses that utilize waters from the wetlands.

Speaking to KNA, Wachoge continues to say that the wetland operates on a recharge-discharge system at the nearby Rungiri dam which formed after an Italian contractor used the area as a source of raw materials that were used in the construction of the Nakuru-Nairobi highways.

“Rungiri dam came as a result of rock mining by an Italian contractor that was used to build the Nakuru-Nairobi highway. It is now a vibrant dam serving as an important reservoir which in turn supplements the existing water supply at Ondiri,” Wachoge says.

He says that as long as the recharge-discharge relationship remains uninterrupted, the water level at Ondiri will not change and locals have expressed their fears of the lake drying up one day.

“Any apparent fears of the wetland drying is likely to be more because of eutrophication and not reduced input of water,” Wachoge reaffirms adding that waters from the wetland have been utilized by the surrounding area population for decades.

One popular example is the famed Alliance High School which since its inception back in 1926 has always used water exclusively from Ondiri wetland.

Charles Kogi, a Senior Teacher at the school and who Wachoge describes as a modern-day Wangari Maathai due to environmental conservation efforts he has undertaken at the school and it environment, reiterates this.

“We have been using this water for the last 99 years, and we will be celebrating a hundred years next year,” Kogi says.

Due to reliance on water from Ondiri, the Senior Teacher explained that Alliance High School has in turn been at the forefront of conservation efforts at the wetland by joining forces with the National Defense College and Kiambu Conservatoire of Forests and other organizations to ensure that they conserve the wetland and during the recent Mazingira day celebrations last week, they joined in to plant over 4000 tree seedlings at Ondiri botany.

Ondiri wetland also doubles up a sanctuary for flora and fauna with over 68 plant species (aquatic and semi-aquatic) recorded in the area and a further estimated 94 species of resident and migratory birds such as the endangered grey crowned crane fabled for its gentle nature and is the symbol for the Nairobi City Council and a prominent figure on the Ugandan flag largely known as having the biggest freshwater tower in East Africa.

Ondiri wetland has also subsequently become an ideal destination for eco-tourism as according to locals, it offers a peaceful setting in which one may relax while taking in the breathtaking scenery of the yet-unexplored nature route along the 30 HA of land that makes up the 10 KM course

                Despite this, challenges facing the wetland include encroachment by nearby communities to acquire farming land and the recent increase in institutions around the area leading to unregulated water consumption and pollution of the wetland from chemicals and human waste.

Even in the face of these anthropogenic activities, the Ondiri wetland remains an important ecological area due to its resilience and significance in the lives of people in Kikuyu Town.

 To ensure Ondiri wetland is sustainably conserved for its rich and

diverse biodiversity and productivity, stakeholders have developed an Ondiri wetland management plan that will ensure the wetland is sustainably conserved and managed for its

ecological, social, and economic importance.

To achieve this, political goodwill and stakeholders’ support and commitment in the implementation has seen the Kiambu Government supporting the management plan and highly encouraging all to ensure the ecological integrity of the wetland.