Climate change: NGO establishes ‘Eco Heroes club’ in Abuja school

By Funmilayo Adeyemi

The Ecolife Conservative Initiative, an NGO, has established an ‘Eco Heroes Club’ at the VineCare Schools, Abuja, to mitigate the effect of climate change.

The Executive Director of the initiative, Mr Chibuzor Akubuike, spoke during the event in commemoration of the World Environment Day on Wednesday in Abuja.

He said the club was necessary to train children how to protect their environment.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Environment Day is celebrated every year on June 5 annually, with the aim of raising awareness on the need to fight global warming and climate change.

The 2024 theme is tagged “Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience.’’

According to Akubuike, the club will take up the ‘zero litter campaign’, presently at the VineCare Schools to other schools in Abuja and across the country.

“The campaign is aimed at building an army of students that will be aware of the need to take care of the environment to mitigate the effect of climate change,’’ he said.

Also, the Head of Basic School, VineCare Schools, Mr Taiwo Odanaogun, said the hands-on experiences received by the students played significant role in preserving the country’s natural resources.

Odanaogun said that all hands must be on deck especially educators, to instill in the young minds the values of environmental stewardship and sustainable living.

“Our ‘Eco Heroes: Zero Litter Campaign’ is a testament to our commitment to creating a cleaner and greener future.

“Through this campaign, we aim to empower our pupils to take active roles in reducing litter, recycling and participating in tree planting activities.

“These actions, although small, have a profound impact on our environment,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Guest Speaker, Mr Absalom Jimba, charged the young Eco heroes to take responsibilities as their collective efforts were powerful steps to a cleaner and greener world.

“The theme reminds us of the vital role we play in protecting our environment. Littering only not tarnishes our beautiful surroundings but also harms wildlife and pollutes our water and soil.

“Each piece of litter we see is a small reminder of the impact human actions have on our planet,” he said.

NAN reports that the commemoration featured tree planting exercise by the initiative and students of VineCare Schools as well as presentation of recyclables, non-recyclables and organic waste baskets to the school. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Chijioke Okoronkwo