Eco clubs in schools will empower students to participate and take up meaningful environmental activities and projects. It is a forum through which students can reach out to influence, engage their parents and neighborhood communities to promote sound environmental behavior. It will empower students to explore environmental concepts and actions beyond the confines of a syllabus or curriculum. While everyone, everywhere, asserts the importance of ‘learning to live sustainably,’ environment remains a peripheral issue in the formal schooling system. It is not just an extracurricular activity but will be made a priority subject in the national curriculum.

The Eco-Green Club in each school will be made up of teachers and a group of motivated students to learn about the environment and to take action to improve their immediate environment. They will also provide a wonderful opportunity to help generate awareness, build attitudes and enable students to take up activities in the real world, in a way that the constraints of the classroom and curriculum won’t allow. Any motivated teacher from the school could become the coordinator for the Eco-Green Club. Training Sessions will be carried out in LGAs for teachers and students on how to set the clubs up. A written guide to setting up and running the clubs will be provided for the interested schools. The guide will illustrate clearly how an Eco-Green club can be initiated in the school, how many students should ideally be in the club and what kind of activities and projects can be undertaken by the club. This guide will help the Eco club coordinator in the schools to systematically and successfully run the club and reach out to the community. Schools will also regularly attend the training conducted by the National Eco-Green Club Board. Reporting Schools committed to the initiative are expected to come up with an annual plan for their Club. Teachers who attend Eco-Green Club training are given an Eco-Green club evaluation check list sheet, this will be filled in by schools and used for monitoring and evaluation. Awards will be given to encourage the club members.

Capacity Building by training teachers and students. Create awareness and sensitivity among students towards environmental issues and their connected problems. Impart knowledge to help individuals and social groups gain a variety of experiences in and acquire a basic understanding of the environment and its associated problems.Build attitudes to help individuals and social groups acquire a set of values and feelings of concern for the environment, and the motivation for actively participating in environmental improvement and protection. Teach skills to help individuals and social groups to identify and solve environmental problems and lead students towards action to participate in appropriate action to help solve these problems and avoid future problems.

Center for Development and Support Initiative (CEDSI), Chidiebere Nwaiwu, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health, Rivers State Government, UNDP, UNEP