Nigeria

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How are you using education to build more sustainable and equitable communities? Tell us about your EE work and impact.

Recognizing the need for a youth-focused platform that encourages environmental activism, I founded Vikipedia. Vikipedia is a regenerative youth hub that provides a space for young people to connect, collaborate, and take meaningful action on environmental issues. Through Vikipedia, I have created a supportive community that empowers youth to drive positive change through various initiatives, including grassroots campaigns, educational workshops, retreats, and projects that advance sustainability.

My approach involves incorporating storytelling techniques, systems thinking, outdoor environmental activities, and leveraging the power of narratives to connect people (Schools and communities) emotionally with the natural world and inspire them to take action. Through interactive workshops, field trips, and engaging presentations, I have successfully reached diverse audiences, from school children to adults, and instilled a sense of responsibility and stewardship toward the environment.

Tell us about your journey to where you are today. What inspired you? What has your path been like?

My passion for the environment and social justice began at a young age, leading me to pursue a career focused on environmental education and climate change activism. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and a Post Graduate Diploma in Sustainability Education.

As an environmental educator, I have worked with various educational institutions such as EarthCharter International, the Foundation for Environmental Education, and GreenFaith International as well as community organizations such as the Ploggin Nigeria Club and the Avalon Project (Earthstories Collections), all to develop and implement impactful environmental education programs. Incorporating storytelling techniques and leveraging the power of narratives is central to my work. 

My knowledge of systems thinking allows me to communicate complex environmental issues in a comprehensive and accessible manner. I help individuals and communities understand the interconnectedness of ecological, social, and economic systems and how their actions can influence positive change. By fostering a holistic perspective, I encourage individuals to think critically, consider long-term consequences, and make informed decisions that contribute to sustainability.

A Little More About Me

What makes you most excited to be an EE30U30 awardee?

Four years ago (2019), I dreamt about being awarded as an EE 30 Under 30 by 2023. Seeing this dream come through means so much to me.

Who (or what) do you look up to as inspiration?

Dr. Laura Hickey (Foundation for Environmental Education) and Dr. Mirian Vilella (Earth Charter International). 

If you were to choose one place to live for the rest of your life, where would it be and why?

Costa Rica. I’m fascinated by the ecological and ethical practices of the country and have been researching them since 2012.

How do you recharge? 

The easiest way for me to recharge is to take a deep rest with a piece of calming music. While doing that, I think about the journey of my life with gratitude.

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How are you using education to build more sustainable and equitable communities? Tell us about your EE work and impact.

Age: 27

Nigeria

Charles (he/him) is a science communicator who fosters public interest in pangolins and their conservation.

How are you using education to build more sustainable and equitable communities?

I founded a nonprofit called Pangolino to foster public and institutional support for pangolin conservation. Pangolino uses art to communicate the science of pangolin conservation and actively engages the public in awareness-raising campaigns.

I also communicate the science of my research to inform better policies for pangolin conservation. For example, I led a piece of research to estimate the number of pangolins involved in Nigeria-linked pangolin scale seizures and then developed a scale converter to make the findings accessible to policymakers, including the Nigeria Customs Service.

In addition to running for 55 km nonstop in a pangolin suit to raise awareness and funds for pangolins, I also lead projects to raise awareness of pangolins and pangolin trafficking among students and adults in southeast Nigeria.

Tell us about your journey to where you are today.

I was born in a rural part of southeast Nigeria. I grew up appreciating the natural world, most of which I saw change drastically by my teenage years. I thus became determined to contribute towards saving the wild animals that were expressly hunted and the rivers that were occasionally poisoned as a means of fishing. I decided to focus on pangolins, a species that continues to fascinate me since first seeing them on television when I was about six. I'm also currently a student at Cambridge University, in the United Kingdom.

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT ME

What makes you most excited to be an EE30U30 awardee?

Meeting and connecting with global changemakers.

What are your hobbies?

Diving, caving, and wildlife spotting.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

To make everyone care about the environment and help them make eco-friendly decisions.

What’s your favorite food to celebrate with?

Jollof rice

Ibadan, Nigeria
Age: 22

Oluwafolajimi is using technology, education, and recycling to eradicate plastic pollution and the threat of climate change in Ibadan, Nigeria.

How are you using education to build more sustainable and equitable communities? 

As co-founder of the Clean City Initiative, I coordinate monthly environmental sanitation outreach projects where we share knowledge about sustainable waste management practices and recycling with indigenous rural communities in Ibadan. We discuss the dangers of indiscriminate plastic waste disposal and its association with flash flooding, pollution, and climate change. By comparing surveys taken before and after our activities in Yemetu and Beere, 96% of community members acknowledged an increase in their knowledge on environmental sanitation while 92% stated that prior to our arrival, they had not heard of the concept of climate change. Learn more about our outreach projects on our YouTube channel.

Furthermore, we operate an eco-volunteers program where we recruit and train young people as certified environmental activists, equipping them with knowledge and skills around plastic waste recycling and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Tell us about your journey to where you are today. 

Ibadan is the third largest city in Nigeria with over 3,000,000 people and is widely acclaimed as the dirtiest city in the country. Of the several sources of waste the city battles, plastic waste remains the most problematic with an estimated 5,000 metric tons of plastic produced daily, and less than 7% of this is recycled. The remaining 93% (approximately 140,000 tons/month) ends up in one of two places: landfills where they decrease the aesthetic value of the landscape, and drainage channels where they cause obstructions and trigger severe floods that take lives and destroy properties. In March 2018, I co-founded the Clean City Initiative with a vision to eliminate the menace of plastic pollution and flooding in Ibadan through recycling that creates jobs for the people of Ibadan and beyond. We have partnered with five communities (Beere, Oje, Mokola, Dugbe, and Yemetu), bringing knowledge of environmental sanitation to more than 12,300 people, collecting and recycling  more than 700kg of plastic waste. Learn more here.

What advice would you give to the next generation of leaders?

While the world battles the new foe called COVID-19, climate change and environmental issues have been pushed to the sidelines. However, these issues themselves have inherent consequences of pandemic proportions if left unattended. While governments may not recognize the need to prioritize these issues, as young people who may have to live with the consequences our whole lives, we ought to take up the responsibility of addressing them in any way we can. While this may seem like a heavy lift, and frankly one that we shouldn’t have to bear, the reality of our situation says otherwise. If anyone can rise to the occasion, young people certainly can.

Have a vision, start from wherever you are, and grow outwards. Act locally, but think globally. Be open to collaborations and seek support. Let’s join hands all over the world to make our climate, planet, and environment sustainable.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Telekinesis: It would be nice to read people’s minds and interact with things without actually touching them. Maybe that way we could get rid of more CO2 in our atmosphere faster? Hah!

Who do you look up to as an inspiration?

As a young Black leader, Former US President Barack Obama is an inspiration to me as the first African American president of the United States.

2021 EE 30 Under 30 Changemaker Grant Project
BEYH 2021: Bookers Environmental Youths Heroes 2021

Bookers Environmental Youths Heroes 2021 will provide 300 students with weekly environmental education lessons in Ifo, Ogun, Nigeria. These lessons will focus on providing theoretical knowledge about the importance of natural resources and their conservation. We will examine major environmental issues from local, national, and international points of view. Participants will also be trained on how to assemble, build, and manage “biodigesters,” which are devices that convert organic waste into biogas and bio-fertilizer. The biogas can be either used for cooking or to generate electricity, while bio-friendly fertilizer can be used by small farm holders.

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EE 30 Under 30 Biography

Ifo, Nigeria
Age: 29

Damilola leads innovative extracurricular and environmental programs that train students to build waste conversion devices.

How are you using education to build more sustainable and equitable communities?

At Bookers School, our Bookers Eco-Education Program (BEEP) includes environmental studies and sustainability projects. Through this program, we partner with De-Olivette Enterprise, Flo-Recycling, and 10 other partners to train participants to entirely build and install plastic bio-digesters from locally sourced materials. These biodigester systems convert farm, human, and animal waste into renewable energy that can greatly reduce hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation. We have created over 50 sensitization programs that have educated more than 10,000 female and male farmers about climate change and how climate events have led to hunger, poverty, and mass migration in agrarian communities within Nigeria. Our environmental and sustainability programs have over the years partnered with over 100 communities around us. In July 2020, we also launched an environmental education program to address the agglomeration of waste related to COVID-19 (PPE, face masks, gloves, sanitizer canisters, and more) by showing young people how they can manage this waste and protect their environment.

Tell us about your journey to where you are today.

As a child, I grew up in the Ososun village which had verdant hills, sparkling rivers, and wild animals. Today, the rivers are extremely polluted. We instead have hills of waste and the animals are mostly dead. Similarly, life has little meaning; there is extreme violence against people of gender, there is an abundance of pollution, diseases, and death. Farming is now considered a risk because of Climate Change and the polluted rivers and farmlands. Yearly, thousands of youths flee farming communities in search of a better life. Years ago, I also fled my community to seek a better future. I met and connected with other youths as well, we all had one thing in common: we were victims whose lives were disrupted by Climate Change; by our leaders and community lack of environmental education and skills. This lack of environmental education remains a great threat to humanity.

I felt a deep sense of duty and responsibility to help young people avoid my experience, so I returned home and created a school that gives great attention to environmental programs and education. I have since worked with thousands of young people and will make it a life mission to encourage families, youths, communities, and businesses to adapt their business in such a way that it becomes environmentally friendly.

What advice would you give to the next generation of leaders? 

Be different.

Be disruptive.

Don't conform.

Don't stop improving.

Enjoy the journey. Laugh, learn, and make an adventure of success, failure, and individual growth in even the darkest days. It is important to learn to make your own sunshine during the dark and cold days because there will be many, just as there will also be many happy days.

Learn productivity, management, and time hacks to stay ahead.

And most importantly, take great care of yourself, love yourself, and learn to be like the water: formless and resilient, yet also powerful.

What keeps you motivated, inspired, and/or hopeful for the future?

The human spirit: our incredible resilience to heal, learn, and rise above challenges.

Describe your work in a poem.

My morning pours
like a cup of sunshine;
Blended with gratitude, duty, and priorities
Tastes like the angel of happiness

Akpugoeze, Enugu State, Nigeria

2020 EE 30 Under 30 Changemaker Grant Project
Akpugoeze Community Awareness and Waste Clean-Up Campaign

This project will establish a community-wide campaign and clean-up initiative using environmental education to raise awareness and harness citizen engagement in waste management in the Akpugoeze community complex of southeastern Nigeria. A lack of waste management services in the community poses a health risk to both humans and the endangered Sclater’s monkey, which is endemic to southeastern Nigeria. By harnessing community engagement, the project aims to alleviate pollution, increase community pride, and form the foundation for effective waste management in the community.

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EE 30 Under 30 Biography
Emmanuel builds awareness in Nigeria to improve environmental health and human well-being and to protect the endangered Sclater's monkey that resides within his community.

Tell us about yourself!

I grew up and still reside in the rural community of Akpugoeze in Enugu State, Nigeria. In my part of the world, people suffer from serious health and economic challenges, and the environment around us is becoming more and more inhospitable for people and wildlife. This has long triggered great concern in my heart. Given that environmental health is not prioritized where I am from, I was never sure how to address this troubling issue. It was after I obtained a bachelor’s degree in Educational Management and Policy in 2018 that I got the opportunity to do so.

In late 2018, I was fortunate to join a forest monitoring project, organized by a foreign scientist working on conservation issues in Akpugoeze, as a forest monitor and supervisor. It was through this program that I saw first-hand the devastation of Akpugoeze’s remaining forests and the impacts of irresponsible land use and waste dumping. This was a life-changing experience. I became dedicated to using education to enlighten others on the need for conservation and sustainable development.

In 2019, I became the supervisor of an intensive community-based environmental educational project, targeting hundreds of children and adults in Akpugoeze. The education team went to homes, town halls, schools, and churches. We focused on many environmental topics, including the conservation of our community’s resident primate, Sclater’s monkey, which is an endangered primate found only in Nigeria. I am now preparing to pursue a Master’s degree in sustainable development.

What inspired you to become a champion for environmental education?

Seeing the harmful impacts happening all around me, my major source of inspiration comes from a motivation to help my environment and my people. Deforestation is one of the major problems in my community. Both human and animal well-being are negatively affected by the loss of trees that provide environmental, health, and economic benefits for us. I have also witnessed a major decline in natural water sources, which hundreds of people in my community depend on as their primary source of drinking water. These precious resources are increasingly becoming polluted as people cut huge trees that provide shade and filter the water underground. Many trees on hillsides above our natural springs and streams are being cut, either for wood or farmland, leading to erosion and sometimes introducing harmful substances into the water.

I am also motivated by the fact that my community is home to the largest sacred population of an endangered and endemic primate, Sclater’s monkey. Preservation of this species and its habitat is critical to the well-being of my community’s unique culture and environment.

Finally, my people constantly clamor for “development,” but do not understand sustainability. To build a single house, one may destroy many trees. It is through environmental education that one can help reverse these negative trends, and thus, I am inspired to do just that.

What advice would you give to the next generation of leaders that are looking to bring about positive change in their communities through EE?

I have many things to suggest to the next generation, but let me narrow it down to these key points:

• Be determined to leave your environment, or your community, better than how you met it.
• You cannot do all the work alone. Learn to collaborate with others, such as schools, non-profit organizations, community-based associations, and local people.
• One of the greatest challenges you may face in environmental education, particularly in developing countries, is adapting to cultures and people. For example, influential leaders, such as traditional leaders, may oppose your ideas for selfish or cultural reasons, or simply due to ignorance. Try to understand local cultures, adapt to them, and be as diplomatic as possible in relating with people. You will be more effective if you align your programs to the cultures of those you wish to educate, rather than to expect them to change for you.   
• For environmental educators in countries where sustainability is not yet a priority, do not be discouraged or let others weigh you down. Believe in yourself, have faith, and keep pushing forward. Never be afraid nor ashamed to start from somewhere, no matter how small.

What keeps you motivated, inspired, or hopeful for the future?

What keeps me motivated is partly due to how delighted I am at how my life is turning out. The environmental education work I am doing and the knowledge I am gaining about sustainability continue to motivate and excite me – I am hopeful for a new future. I look forward to helping promote increasingly positive changes in the environment and witness changing attitudes of those around me. For example, in future, I expect to see people in my community acting in environmentally conscious ways and engaging in sustainable behaviors, such as planting trees, not cutting trees unsustainably, and properly disposing of waste.

I strongly believe that one day my community will be much different than it is today, and that it will serve as a role model for other African communities. Therefore, I am thrilled to be one of those individuals leading efforts in this direction. One day I will look back at the challenges we overcame, and then look forward to picture more and more young ones following in our footsteps and taking up positive actions. In addition to myself and those immediately around me, I am also inspired by seeing what others around the world are passionately doing to improve the state of our environment.

Who do you look up to as inspiration for your work?

My most outstanding role model for my work has been my director and mentor, Prof. Lynne Baker. She has influenced me and many others in my community in no small measure. She works tirelessly, completely voluntarily, to help my community. Her zeal, passion, and active efforts toward sustainable development, conservation, and environmental education in Nigeria will remain a great inspiration to me. Furthermore, she never coddled me and instead challenged me and gave me a lot of responsibility. It has been a great learning experience. Importantly, she believes in me and gives me the chance to prove myself.

 

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Ibadan, Nigeria

2020 EE 30 Under 30 Changemaker Grant Project
Environmental Education Programme

ISNAD-Africa’s Environmental Education Programme (EEP) will engage secondary school students in three African countries to identify environmental challenges and needs in their communities and develop solutions to them through critical thinking, peer learning across student teams, mentorship from international experts, and hands-on community projects. Student teams will identify a local environmental need, design and implement a project over the course of 4 months, receive guidance and mentorship from regional experts, and share their results through a webinar with the participating classrooms across 3 countries.

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EE 30 Under 30 Biography

Tell us a bit about yourself!

I am a renewable energy researcher, the founder of the International Support Network for African Development (ISNAD-Africa), and a Doctoral researcher within the UNESCO Chair in Energy for Sustainable Development at the Politecnico di Milano, Italy. I also hold a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University and a multidisciplinary Master’s degree in Energy Studies for the University of Ibadan, with a specialization in renewable energy. For these I have received scholarships from the Nigerian and Italian governments and the MacArthur Foundation, and I was recently named a 40 Under 40 Changemaker in the global solar energy industry by the US-based Renewable Energy World.

At ISNAD-Africa, I initiated the Mentoring for Research Programme, which establishes technical and thematic mentoring relationships between students conducting research on sustainable energy, environment and climate change in African universities, and accomplished researchers and professionals across the globe. I have also served as country contributor to various global reports on sustainable energy, including the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century’s (REN21) 2018 Global Status Report on renewable energy.

What inspired you to become a champion for the environment and environmental education?

Africa is too rich to be poor! I began to explore the “development” concept from a young age. Over time, I realised that Africa’s poor performance on development indices is due to the high level of energy poverty which limits the transformation of our abundant resources to wealth. Amazingly, we have huge potential for solar, hydro, and wind energies, which are grossly underexploited. Therefore, I was determined to find out the reasons why a continent abundantly rich in energy resources could be so poor in energy supply. Surprisingly, I found that the lack of energy training and research on sustainable energy topics is among the root causes.

The advanced level of renewable energy education and research in many developed nations account for their global leadership in renewable energy exploitation and use. On the other hand, African countries, with higher renewable energy potential, account for the lowest uptake in the world due to inadequate renewable energy education and research. After identifying this major barrier, I decided to build a career to bridge the knowledge gap and help Africa raise a new generation of experts who will use their knowledge and expertise to facilitate a clean energy transition in Africa, to catalyse sustainable development on the continent. Africa is too rich to be poor, I choose to Act!

What advice would you give to the next generation of leaders that are looking to bring about positive change in their communities through EE?

Over time, I have realized that there are a lot of youth with innovative ideas in environmental education but face many barriers implementing them, especially in developing countries where environmental awareness is still emerging. I discovered these challenges early and devised strategies that have helped me and that I believe will come in handy for the next generation of leaders as well:

1. Don’t wait for support, and start small. Every big idea can start small! Break down the big, ambitious project into smaller pieces that can be implemented with little or no support. With small projects you will gain experience and trust. Once prove to the world that you have “content,” then you will be amazed at how quickly the world can get you “containers” (or support) to upscale and achieve the “big picture.” So, lay that first block!
2. Leverage partnerships. Multi-stakeholder platforms tend to be more effective than isolated initiatives, so get other organizations involved (see Sustainable Development Goal #17). Consider requesting in-kind organizational support rather than funds from partners, which is generally more appealing to organizations. In-kind support is also an efficient cost-minimization strategy.
3. The impact of environmental educators is not always easily seen and recognized, especially in developing economies where sustainability is still an emerging topic. Environmental educators must therefore be self-encouraged and self-motivated, committed and consistent.

Above all, you must see your efforts as a “Calling” and your unique contribution to global development.

Who do you look up to as inspiration for your work?

I have met and been influenced by many great achievers in the field of environmental education. However, as my professor and mentor at Politecnico di Milano, Professor Emanuela Colombo’s influence on me has been multidimensional and very unique. Her strong and demonstrated passion for sustainable development and environmental education in Africa has been a particularly source of inspiration to me.

What pro-environmental behavior do you think would make a big impact if everyone in the world started doing it?

Over 70 percent of global electricity consumption is still generated from fossil fuels, facing us with the challenge of climate change from greenhouse gases emissions. While renewable energy is on the rise globally as a means to promote sustainability and energy, energy efficiency could have even more potential to save the planet by reducing energy demand without reducing human comfort. Inefficient energy usage is a global setback for both developed and developing economies, but we can reach great milestones simply through behavioral changes to improve our global energy efficiency levels.

I look forward to a world to where everyone has access to and uses just as much electricity as they need, at the highest level of efficiency. I therefore urge all of us to only power on electrical appliances and machines when they are needed!