EcoRise; Cultivating Environmental Champions among school students
The Tiko municipality has a coastal equatorial climate. There are two distinct seasons: a long rainy season of about 8 months and a short dry season of about 4 months. The annual amount of rainfall ranges from 2000mm to 4000mm. The rainfall is one of the most important climatic factors influencing agriculture, having the highest effect in determining the potential of the area, the crops grown, the farming system and the sequence and timing of farming operations. The atmospheric humidity varies with the absolute value and the seasonal distribution of rainfall, being uniformly high throughout the wet season, and falling to lower levels during the dry season. In this picturesque town of Tiko, nestled in the South West region of Cameroon, lies an opportunity to foster a generation of environmentally conscious and proactive youth. As communities worldwide face mounting environmental challenges and Tiko alike, there is an urgent need to equip young people with the environmental sustainability and leadership knowledge and skills they need to become stewards of their surroundings. The “EcoRise” project was born out of this need, aimed at igniting a passion for sustainability and empowering Tiko youths to lead change towards a greener and more resilient future.
The goal of this project was to deliver a series of interactive workshops on topics such as climate change, waste reduction, and biodiversity conservation; provide leadership training to equip youth with the skills needed to initiate and lead environmental initiatives and; organize a community-wide eco-challenge, encouraging participants to implement sustainable practices in their daily lives. The Organization for Gender, Civic Engagement and Youth Development (OGCEYOD) in partnership with LUSH Charity Pot UK (Donor) and local partner Royal Green Gardeners, empowered students from some Secondary and High schools and youth groups in Tiko through capacity building workshops focused on topics such as climate change, waste management, biodiversity conservation, and leadership development. By leveraging on the club period in school, the OGCEYOD project team conducted a series of interactive workshops designed to empower students as environmental leaders and change-makers.
Throughout the month of May 2024, the project team organized workshop sessions in the following schools in Tiko; Christ the King College (CKC), Government Bilingual High School (GBHS), Sure Foundation and Modern College Of Technology (STAMOTEC). Some 25 youths from youth groups around Tiko were also convocated for a one-day training workshop on same topics held at the Multipurpose Youth Centre, Tiko chaired by the Divisional Delegate of Youth Affairs and Civic Education for Tiko Sub-division. The Divisional Delegate edged all the youths to become active ambassador in curbing the negative impact of climate change. The Executive Director of OGCEYOD, Mr. Elvis Wepngongs’ take-home message to the youths in all the workshop sessions was for the youths to be the change to enable others.
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