NAN-AE-4
Club
By Vivian Emoni
Abuja, May 10, 2017 (NAN) The Ecolife Conservation Initiative, an NGO, says it has concluded plans to establish environmental clubs in FCT government schools.
Mr Henry Akwitti, the President of the organisation made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
Akwitti said that the establishment of the clubs would play an important role in creating environmental awareness among the future generation in the country.
He said that the aim of establishing the club in schools was to motivate students to imbibe habits and lifestyle for minimum waste generation, source separation of waste and dispose waste to the storage point.
According to him, the club will motivate the students to keep their surroundings green and clean by undertaking plantation of trees.
“Environmental club is a programme we have put together to bring children of like minds together and coach them on what they can do to promote healthy environment.
“The establishment of the club will enable the children to know about the effect of climate change and help them to adapt to whatever damage that might have been done to the environment by climate change.
“We want to ensure that we educate the students to create awareness among the public so as to stop the indiscriminate burning of waste which causes disease.
“We will also tell the students on the use of plastic bags and not to throw them in public places as they block drains and sewers, cause water logging and provide breeding ground for mosquitoes.
“The process of establishing the club has started already, we have discussed it with the principal of Junior Secondary School, Kubwa in FCT, in few days time we will start the programme.
“The essence of this is also to integrate the students into our programme; we intend to move around all the government schools, we will also move to states because it is a nationwide programme.
“Government schools are our primary domain, apart from establishment of the club the organisation has other projects we intend doing,’’ he said.
Akwitti said that one of the organisation`s objectives was to enlighten Nigerians on the effect of climate change and what could be done to mitigate it in the country.
He explained that the organisation was planning to organise other relevant programmes that could promote environmental health across the country.
He emphasised that the organisation would ensure that “Nigerians give proper attention to climate change issues”. (NAN)
VOE/MO/GY
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Edited by Morayo Omolade/Grace Yussuf