Environmental group trains 3,000 pupils, women in up-cycling, gardening

Foundation for a Better Environment has trained 3,000 school kids and women in up-cycling and home gardening as part of the contributions of the group to checking the effects of climate change.

The Head of the group, Mrs Temitope Okunnu, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.

She said the group trained the people in a bid to foster better environment, especially in low-income areas of Lagos.

“We are closing in on the eco-school project. It is a sustainable project on gardening and up-cycling project in low-income areas and public schools in Lagos State.

“The project addressed the basic issues of climate change. There has been inconsistencies in rainfall patterns and farmers are complaining of the hardness of the soil.

“So, we have provided sustainable alternatives by teaching people how to grow foods in their homes.

“The project was implemented at Epe, Badagry and Ikorodu areas of Lagos State.”

Okunnu said the target of the scheme was to teach participants in communities, basic skills in gardening, recycling, up-cycling, composting and tree planting.

She said that the group had achieved success since they started last year, noting that some participants in the scheme had extended the idea to their homes.

The environmentalist defined up-cycling as the creative re-use of waste materials into functional products of high environmental value.

“We also taught participants new solutions on farming with limited or no farming space and on how to grow crops in tyres, bags and pet bottles.

“Through this approach we can grow our vegetables and crops at home and also rid the environment of plastic pollution.

“With this, plastics, old tyres and pet bottles will no longer litter our streets, drainages and canals because these materials are now put into good use.

“We have also introduced how pet bottles can be upcycled into ottomans, footstools, chairs and mats,” Okunnu said.

She said the participants were also taught compositing to enable them to make good soil composition from burying waste foods and vegetables into the soil to enrich it for farming.

“We also taught them tree planting as the natural solution to fight back climate change effects and on how to grow economic rich trees.”

Okunnu said that the organisation would reward excellent participants on March 19 for their creativity in up-cycling activities.

She thanked the participants, the ACT foundation, the Lagos State Ministries of Education and Environment for providing a congenial environment to train the pupils.