Bolanle Lawal
In a bid to ensure the awareness of climate change and alleviate environmental problems , a non-governmental organisation, Triple Green Environmental Development Foundation (TGED Foundation) has organized competition for primary and secondary schools in Ekiti state.
The competition tagged, ‘ Eco Savers School Project’ involved six primary schools and five secondary schools in the state and was witnessed by stakeholders including, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) , National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency(NASREA) secondary school teachers, among others.
Some of the participating schools include, All Souls Anglican School , Olaoluwa Muslim Grammar School, Fountain School , Mary Immaculate School and Divine Touch School, all in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
Speaking during the event, the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and founder of TGED Foundation, Oluwaseyi Ebenezer noted that the competition was created to make the students at early stage be aware of the global climate crisis and agent of change in the society.
Ebenezer explained that the organization in the last few years had been engaging critical stakeholders on sustainable environmental practices that would not only engender sustainable economy but also help in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)
According to her, ” Eco Savers School Project holds that the way to address the triple plenatary crisis (Climate change, Biodiversity loss and Pollution) globally, nationally and locally is by educating students on environmental awareness at the very early school age. The implementation of environmental programs at schools will help drive the necessary changes in the environmental policies regarding climate change. This is in line with the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 13 which is Quality Education and Climate Action.
” The competition is not to prove that one school is better than the other but to help us access our impact and level of understanding of these issues by the students and also to make them more aware about the global crisis.
” Climate change is the most challenging problem the world is facing presently and there is a huge need for all hands to be on deck to fight this problem. Climate Change is estimated to cause 150,000 deaths annually with the World Health organisation estimating that this number will increase to 250,000 deaths annually between 2030 and 2050.
” These effects are expected to become greater over time if urgent action is not taken at the global, national and local level.
According to the recent UNICEF report, although children are worst hit when environmental disaster happens, however, they should not be considered inactive or weak.”
On the importance of students to the awareness drive, the CEO said, ” Students can be powerful agents of change. Studies have shown that many students can be astonishingly resilient in the face of significant challenges. Thus, educating students on issues of climate change is one of the best ways of strengthening communities on the problems of adaptation to climate change.
” Education is therefore critical in helping the population understand and address the impacts of climate change and help in cultivating the behaviour and attitudes needed in addressing its causes and adapting to its impacts. Therefore, it is imperative to introduce environmental/ climate change topics to the educational system which is necessary to foster a culture at the schools, aimed at alleviating environmental problems that might be caused by climate change.”