ECO-DEGRADATION: Stakeholders Must Act Fast To Save Humanity-Prof Osundare

OYE AGUNBIADE
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A Renowned African poet, Professor Niyi Osundare, has called for a synergy among artistes, activists and policy makers in the battle against eco-degradation, an act that is presently contributing to global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, water and air pollution, wildlife extinction, and many ailments such as asthma.

Osundare who is the author of the popular collections “The Eye of the Earth” and “City without People” made the call at an online forum that was organized by the Green Institute, Ondo. Tagged “What the Earth Said: A Reading and Conversation with Niyi Osundare,” the event was moderated by Dr. Tosin Gbogi who is an Assistant Professor of English and Africana Studies at Marquette University.

Introducing the reading and conversation, Gbogi noted that the event could not have been more timely given the strange times we now live in.

In the poetry reading and conversation that followed, Prof. Osundare who lamented the alarming rate of desert encroachment, poisoned seas, and the extinction of species said the reckless use and abuse of the environment gave him much concern, hence his preservative advocacies through art.

The poet also condemned world leaders who say climate change is not real, describing such leaders as dangerous to humanity.

He noted that the restraint at addressing climate change globally could not be dissociated from those who do not believe in it.

Speaking on the poem “Ours to Plough not to Plunder,” Osundare also indicted local farmers and individuals, observing that bush burning and untoward farming activities on the part of the farmers contribute to environmental pollution and global warming.

Recalling his background at Ikere Ekiti, Professor Osundare noted that the plundered earth once had its harmonic rhythm and prophylactic appeals which African ancestors enjoyed, hence the need for a collective front to return the earth to its beauty.

While commending those he described as the Salvation Army of the Earth in Nigeria, the poet remembered and hailed the significant interventions and contributions of late Ken Saro-Wiwa, the late Nigerian writer and environmental activist.

Osundare urged the Salvation Army of the Earth never to relent in their advocacies as the calls are gradually being heeded in the face of overwhelming repercussions of environmental degradation as seen in president Macron of France’s recent move over the wild fire in the amazon.

While responding to a question by Dr. Chigbo Anyaduba that perpetrators of degradation hardly suffer from the havoc as seen in the Niger Delta, Osundare, himself a survivor of Hurricane Katrina, enjoined the victims to insist on ending such act, noting that a silent mouth equals a resigned destiny.

The Don called on every writer to become a climate warrior advocating the preservation of the earth. “The world won’t change except we change it,” he said.

He also called for a synergy among writers, activists, and policy makers to address the ravaging trend of climate change noting that writers’/artists’ observation and advocacy can only translate to action when policy makers reason with them.

The convener of the Green Room and the director of the Green Institute, Dr. Adenike Akinsemolu, in a remark to the poet enjoined the people to be change agents in the preservation of their respective environment by being careful in relating to nature rather than waiting for government and policy makers.

The event which was streamed live across different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube had over one thousand participants some of who include Dr. Chigbo Arthur Anyaduba, Tolulope Odebunmi, and Gabriel Bamgbose.

Other participants include Prof. Adeleke Adeeko, James Murua, Molara Wood, Tade Ipadeola, Niran Okewole, Deji Toye, Olanike Olaleru, Oluwafunke Ogunya, Dr. James Yékú, Dr. Nathan Surh-Sytsma, Dr. Adeiza Isiaka Lasisi, Tosin Orimolade, Adeola Falayi, John Olumodi, and Mr. Tunde Laniyan, among others.

Participants cut across Nigeria, France, USA, Canada, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa.

It’s Time to Hit the Sustainability Reset Button By Pamela Okutoyi

The Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced the urgency for collaborations in tackling global challenges. The Green Institute recently held a virtual summit on sustainability to mark the World Environment Day. The meeting gathered over 25 renowned sustainability specialists across the globe to provide practical insights into how nations can sustainably overcome the unfolding crises.

Below are the key takeaways:

• Teaching ecology beyond classroom to tackle climate change

Noah Martin, a senior program designer at Georgetown University advocated for a switch to transformative learning of ecology, which plays a significant role in sustainability. According to Martin, humanity needs to build sustainability-focused technology and tap into the power of effective storytelling in promoting sustainable development. 

A multidisciplinary approach towards ecology, for instance, can attract the younger generation to this mission, he said. At the same time, to be effective, governments should give teachers more space by refraining from too much oversight. As for the role that ecology has to play in government policies, Martin said: “The role of ecology in climate change should be front and center in policy decisions.”

• Green schools for better learning experience

Ruba Hinnawifrom Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) shared the council’s successful case study of transitioning to ‘green schools’ in Qatar.

According to Hinnawi, the three main objectives of green schools are: to improve the health and well-being of its students, minimise its environmental impact, and use all of its physical features as a dynamic teaching tool. Such a school minimises its environmental impact as it gives great consideration to efficient use of energy and water, indoor environment quality, sight and surroundings, and transportation.

Generally, a green school features the following – efficient operation, sight and nature, sustainable building and transportation, comfort, responsible material and waste handling, and innovation.

• Building resilient health structure to improve public health

Prof Jeffrey Sachs, the director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) proposed ways to combat novel diseases, using Covid-19 as a case study. According to Sachs, the One Health initiative is increasingly being put to the test by the ever-present risk of new diseases spreading from animals to humans. He highlighted the danger humanity faces when politicians refute scientific evidence about global pandemics.

“When politicians ignore signs as Trump does, people suffer and die,” he said.

Talking about his new book, The Age of Globalization, Prof Sachs recounted the human species’ relationship before civilization.

He said: “We have been interconnected as a species from the start over vast human distances. We have to learn how to cooperate on a global scale”.

Prof Sachs affirmed his belief in multilateral organisations as opposed to nationalistic views: “Extreme nationalists who are arrogant and chauvinistic like Trump don’t like the United Nations because it will have the United States obey international rules, not simply the president’s whims. This is why we need the United Nations. When we see such an unstable person in power, we need rules, not just the discretion of individuals with their armies under their command”.

Privatisation of healthcare in developed countries, precisely the US, has led to a high cost of medical services in the region, he noted. In contrast, unavailable health care services or untimely interventions in developing countries have led to the spread of infectious diseases. When asked for a solution to this dilemma, Prof Sachs recommended universal publicly-financed access to health care. Emphasising on developing countries, he said: “Development aid and tax reform are the two most important ways to help poor countries to close their budget deficit.”

The idea of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), according to Prof Sachs, is that everybody should be able to enjoy the benefits of modern technology and economic progress and live in an environmentally safe planet.

“Yet, the SDGs are goals; they are not yet our current reality. They should inspire actions,” he said.

Discussing SDG progress in Africa, Eve de la Mothe Karoubi, a senior manager at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), agreed that Africa’s track progress towards sustainable development has been overshadowed by inadequate data.

“Africa is not on track to achieve the SDGs,” said Karoubi, pointing out the need for African governments to revisit the drawing board and redesign workable policies to achieve sustainable development.

• Redesigning waste management: integrated approach

Michael Waas from Terracycle shared that waste reduction, being viewed as one of the most unattractive economic industries in the state, is among the five principles of sustainability.

“The concept of building a circular economy and of promoting circular product streams seems like a new conversation, but what we found is that waste is a modern invention. Throughout the entire history of the natural world, there was no waste because it doesn’t exist in nature. The output of every system becomes the input for another”.

According to Waas, to combat the problem of rising waste, society has to rethink its design models to achieve the concept of a circular economy where no waste goes to waste.

• Renewable energy has long-term advantage

Prof Marc Rosen, a professor of Engineering from Ontario Tech University suggested that governments should double down their efforts in stimulating renewable energy. Noting that conspiracies that exist within the renewable energy sector are not entirely factual, Prof Rosen stated: “In the long-term, renewable energy has an advantage that companies and governments overlook.”

• Youth leadership for sustainability

Walid Machrouh, a youth activist for the United Nations program, affirmed the lack of sustainability knowledge amongst youths who are a big component of the society and highlighted the need for partnerships and leadership in sustainable development. In his words, he said: “As young people, we create opportunities. If we don’t collaborate or start by initiating small initiatives, we’re going to consume what’s happening in the world with no reflection and feedback”.

• A new approach to agriculture

Samson Ogbole, a farmer and the lead trainer for Farm Lab, famous for using aeroponics in Nigeria, explained the crucial role of sustainable agriculture.

“Food production should not be seasonal because hunger is not seasonal,” he said.

Ogbole believes that farmers can come up with own solutions, without waiting for the government to solve all the problems.

“When we have tangible results, those in power by default will want to key into it,” he said.

According to him, the future of farming is urban farming in urban and peri-urban areas amid a population surge. He regrettably pointed out the negative attitude of individuals and governments towards farmers and farming in general, especially in developing countries like Nigeria. Unless such views are changed, he said, agriculture, which is one of the pillars of civilisation, won’t make much progress.

• Impact investing, new business models and technology

Eva Andriyash, CEO of IxD Capital, highlighted that impact investing and impact entrepreneurship could help accelerate the global pace towards sustainable development. This is because such enterprises are primarily driven by the UN’s 17 SDGs. Investors and entrepreneurs, she said, should strive to – join forces to manage the challenges of Covid-19, strengthen innovations across sectors, implement the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, and maximise the positive impact of private capital.

Businesses and the environment could co-exist harmoniously when sustainability is applied and reinforced. To this end, business models should always strive to not only hit home runs but be designed in connection to environmental well-being and social inclusion.

“As people, we are getting connected daily due to the revolution of technology. We should leverage this technology to bridge the gaps in our differences. That is the only way to achieve true sustainability.”

Jonathan Reichental, CEO of Human Future,explained the crucial role of data in urban innovation.

 “Our world is now running on data as if it is a new type of natural resource like oil. It has enormous value in how we make decisions, in private organizations, and increasingly in governments. We create 2-half quintillion bytes of data every day,” said Reichental.

He stressed the usefulness of technologies like GPS in monitoring and regulation. “We can observe and understand what happens during a natural disaster such as flooding, mudslides, oil spills, seismic activity, etc. It is also used to manage indiscriminate logging going on in different parts of the world. GPS is used for understanding the migration of animals. We use GPS to understand the health of our planet vegetation”.

“We have to be deliberate about how we treat our environment – whether by cycling or planting a few trees. Because when we are gone from this planet, we will be leaving it in the hands of those who come after us. We want to leave them a planet that will be comfortable for them. We want to create environmental legacies that they will adopt and improve upon.”

• Interdependence vs. Speciesism

According to Prof Damilola Olawuyi, a leading advocate in the extractive industry, humans need to take responsibility as custodians of the environment.

 “We are all part of a complex web or chain that is interdependent. Any attempt to place humans above any other component is speciesism, and the result is what we are witnessing,” said Olawuyi.

He emphasized that one doesn’t need to wait until they get rich or powerful to protect the environment, as we all have a part to play, however modest.

Elizabeth Mrema, acting executive secretary for the Convention on Biological Diversity, stressed that returning to the status quo, to the way society lived would lead to a recurrence of events. Humanity, therefore, needs to rebuild better resilient structures and avoid the destruction of biodiversity.

“It is time for urgent international sweeping cooperation to preserve nature, conserve biodiversity, and protect human health for generations to come,” said Mrema.

“We don’t often realise the commonalities, but spot the differences. To act together, to start any collective action, whether it is COVID-19, racism, environmental change, climate change, global warming, requires certain core beliefs and values at the initial stage so that differences can build on these commonalities,” said Dr Evren Tok, Assistant Dean for Information and Community Development at Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

The Earth’s Littlest Creatures That Play a Big Role in the Environment By Johanna Read

Don't let their size fool you: These creatures may be tiny, but they're certainly mighty!

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Small wonders

Humans often forget just how interconnected the world is—and just how much we rely on the work of animals to keep it healthy and buzzing along. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind. Still, when we do think about it, it’s pretty easy to see the effects that certain larger animals have on the environment. When beavers build dams, for example, they change the flow of rivers. But even the smallest creatures can make big changes and contributions, and without them, the world would be a very different place. Here are some of tiniest ones on the planet and the essential roles they play. When you’re up to speed, check out some of the biggest living animals in the world.the biggest living animals in the world.

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Tardigrades

You may have first heard about tardigrades from Star Trek, with the USS Discovery using one of these creatures to jump through time and space. But tardigrades aren’t science fiction. The real ones, however, are rarely more than a millimeter in size. Live Science describes how tardigrades look a little like fat bears or piglets—hence their nicknames of “water bears” or “moss piglets”—except they have eight legs and a round telescoping mouth. National Geographic says there are about 1,300 different species of them, and they live everywhere from sand dunes to deep in the ocean. They can even live in the vacuum of space (but, as far as we know, can’t help spaceships fly). Tardigrades hold the title of the most indestructible species on the planet, but they need a layer of water around them to thrive or they’ll go into a kind of hibernation mode; this is why their preferred homes are mosses and lichens.

So, why are these tiny creatures such a big deal? Tardigrades are useful for the ecosystem because they’re a pioneer species, meaning they’re often the first creatures to inhabit an environment. They can survive where other multicellular organisms can’t, like in the deep seas or in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption. They create carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, essential building blocks of life, and therefore attract microscopic animals and plants, which eventually become part of the food chain for larger animals. Scientists think tardigrades will play an important role as the Arctic’s permafrost melts and could even pave the way for colonizing Mars. They might also help researchers learn how to extend human life in extreme circumstances. Powerful and cute!

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Coral polyps

Coral polyps, small translucent creatures related to sea anemones and jellyfish, are essential components of coral reefs. They’re soft on top like jellies and anemones, but they have a hard skeleton made of limestone at their base, says zoologist Matthew Oldfield, cofounder of ZuBlu Diving in Asia. “As each polyp grows, it splits, budding off a clone of itself again and again,” he explains. Weirdly, coral polyps secrete their own skeletons, which are made of calcium carbonate. The skeletons protect the coral polyps from predators, plus give other polyps a hard place to attach themselves and grow. Eventually, a colony of genetically identical polyps creates a coral reef.

Healthy coral reefs protect shorelines from storms and are an important place for young fish, which eventually form part of the food chain. According to National Geographic, coral reefs provide support to 25 percent of all marine creatures, though the reefs cover less than one percent of the entire floor of the ocean. But reefs are under threat from ocean warming and pollution, which could seriously harm underwater ecosystems. Don’t miss these powerful photos that show why oceans still need our help.

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Butterflies

All butterflies are excellent pollinators, including the tiniest among them: the Western pygmy blue, which has a wingspan of no more than three-quarters of an inch. Pollination is essential to maintaining our food supply, and in fact, one-third of the food humans eat relies on pollinators like butterflies, according to Sciencing. Some butterfly species help us further by eating tiny aphids, the garden pests that like to destroy many of our crops. Creating the conditions to attract and support some types of butterflies is an environmentally friendly way to keep aphids at bay.

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Bees

Bees are another essential pollinator, and our food—including coffee!—is at risk because of the decline in bee populations from pesticides, climate change, and habitat loss. Honeybees are one essential species, but bees of all kinds are important to the world, and we’re learning new ways they can help us all the time. Mental Floss reports, for example, that a substance that bees use to create their hives, called propolis, has been effective in relieving human ailments like cold sores, cavities, and eczema.

Another weird bee fact: Bees have helped humans find abandoned landmines and identify toxic chemical spills. How? According to Nature Physics, trainers can actually teach bees to associate the smell of TNT and specific chemicals with food. Lasers are then used to track the parts of a potential minefield that the bees spend more time at. Because bees are so light, they can identify mines that might have gone off if a dog or rat was used to sniff them out. Find out some things we can do every day to help honeybees.

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Termites

While you don’t want termites near your house, these bugs do provide a very useful service in the forest: They eat decomposing leaves and other plant matter. Plus, the soil from termite mounds is rich in nutrients, and farmers use it as fertilizer. In fact, using termite soil on farms can increase crop yield by 300 percent, according to environmental microbiologist Adenike A. Akinsemolu, founder of The Green Institute and author of The Principles of Green and Sustainability Science.

Akinsemolu also says that termites are an inspiration to human architects. For example, termites inspired the design of the Eastgate Centre in Harare, the largest office and shopping complex in Zimbabwe. Rather than using conventional air conditioning, she explains, the architect used “biomimicry principles” so that the building’s environment could be regulated naturally, much like a termite mound. Termites might be quite proud of that fact, but here are 13 secrets termites don’t want you to know.

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Hummingbirds

Unlike termites, it is nice to have hummingbirds around your house. They’re one of the smallest birds in the world. The tiniest, the Cuban bee hummingbird, weighs less than a dime and is only about two inches long. Despite their diminutive size, hummingbirds are powerful—they can hover in place, fly backwards, and fly at elevations where there’s almost no oxygen. That’s especially important when it comes to maintaining certain ecosystems. Science Nordic says that many plants rely on hummingbirds for pollination, especially in lowland rainforests and cloud forests, where flying insects like bees have trouble with the rain. And that’s not all: Because each hummingbird is adapted to drink from a specific flower, it’s thought that they’re an important part of plant biodiversity, too. Here are another 19 facts about hummingbirds you probably never knew.

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Frogs

Frogs help us by keeping insect populations in check. Like canaries in coal mines, they can also indicate to scientists when water quality is poor. If their environment isn’t healthy, they will change their habits, leave ponds and streams, stop reproducing, get sick, and sometimes die. And, like many little animals, frogs are important for providing food for bigger animals. Birds; snakes; fish; and mammals like raccoons, otters, and foxes eat frogs. Some carnivorous frogs even eat other frogs!

Did you know that not all toads are frogs, but all frogs are toads? That’s one of these 10 interesting animal distinctions you probably get confused. Also, we bet you didn’t know that frogs have teeth but toads don’t!

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Plankton

Plankton is the name we give to all the tiny organisms (both plants and animals) that float in currents but aren’t able to propel themselves. An individual plankton organism is called a plankter. If you think whales are cool, give plankton a big thank you because huge baleen whales eat tiny plankton almost exclusively. If we didn’t have plankton, many animals throughout the food chain would starve. “The biodiversity of our planet is disproportionately enriched by small animals,” says Richard Smith, PhD, a marine biologist, conservationist, and author of The World Beneath.

Plankton also help break down organic material in the water, which creates both food for other organisms and oxygen for the entire planet. In fact, phytoplankton are responsible for creating about 70 percent of the world’s oxygen, reports National Geographic. One type of plankton, called prochlorococcus, is so small that there are millions of them in a single drop of water. Discover another 13 fascinating facts about the world’s oceans.

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Ants

Ants are the janitors of the forest, cleaning up dead stuff and making way for new life. They sometimes help spread seeds to grow new plants, too. When ants build tunnels in the soil, they aerate it and recirculate nutrients essential for plant growth. Ants are also social animals, notes Olav Rueppell, PhD, a biology professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. “Social insects such as honey bees, wasps, ants, and termites not only provide many essential services by pollinating what we eat, preying on pests, and decomposing what we throw away, but also show us the power of cooperation and altruism,” he explains. Learn the truth about these  27 “facts” about animals that you have all wrong.

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Snails and slugs

There are all sorts of snails and slugs, some ugly (we mean you, banana slug), some kind of cute, and some just weird (check out this snail that creates its own shell of iron). But these creatures, like millipedes, worms, flies, woodlice, and even lobsters, are detritivores. That means they eat detritus, or organic waste composed of dead plants and animals. We know, it’s not the most appetizing thing in the world, but it’s incredibly important, notes chemical ecologist Heidi Appel, PhD, dean of the University of Toledo Jesup Scott Honors College and a professor of environmental science. “Tiny animals like detritivores make our lives possible,” she explains, as they recycle nutrients in the circle of life. “[Plus], without them, we’d be buried in dead stuff and starved for nutrients.” So while slugs might give you the creepy-crawlies, life would be even grosser without them. If you’re feeling inadequate compared to these creatures, find out some little things you can do every day to help the environment.

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Caddisflies

There are about 7,100 different species of caddisfly around the world, about 1,340 of them in North America. They’re usually found in lakes, ponds, and rivers, and the largest are only about one inch long. Think of the caddisfly as a water spider. In their larval stage, they produce nets of sticky silk to help them catch tiny particles of food that move through the water they live in. Their dinner preparations benefit the river by preventing the river gravel from flowing away downstream, which, in turn, reduces erosion. So maybe give the caddisfly a nod of thanks next time you take a walk by a beautiful river.

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Lesser long-nosed bat

The three-inch-long lesser long-nosed bat spends its winters in Mexico and its summers in states like Arizona and New Mexico. They were declared endangered in 1988, but efforts to protect them were effective. In 2018, they became the first bat to be removed from the United States list of endangered species—not because they became extinct but because their numbers had improved. But now, their populations are decreasing again, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed them as “Near Threatened.”

Why are these little bats so important? They pollinate a lot of plants, and they’re vital for pollinating blue agave, the plant that gives us tequila. So, the next time you have a margarita, give a toast to the lesser long-nosed bat and all these tiny creatures that help the environment. Next, learn about more incredible animals that came back from the brink of extinction.

How a Bizarre Nazi Military Machine Left a Lasting Mark on the Environment

VIENNA —The Tirpitz was the Nazis' most imposing warship and the largest battleship ever built by a European navy. It should have been an easy target for bombers, but this massive vessel could hide in plain sight.

Hitler's navy used a toxic artificial fog to conceal the ship when it was stationed in a Norwegian fjord. And, according to new research, this ephemeral smoke left a lasting mark on some of the living witnesses of World War II: the trees.

"The effects of one military engagement during World War II are still evident in the forests of Norway, 70 years later," said Claudia Hartl, a tree-ring researcher at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany.

Hartl, who presented her findings here during the annual meeting of the European Geosciences Union, didn't set out to study "war dendrochronology." Rather, she was taking core samples from pine trees around Kåfjord, near the northern edge of Scandinavia, to reconstruct a record of yearly temperatures for the past 2,000 years. (The trees can live for dozens or hundreds of years, and even older stumps can be found preserved in frigid lakes.)

"Trees are limited by temperature there, so if you have a cold year, trees form a narrow ring, and if you have a warm year, then you have wide ring," Hartl explained.

At a site near the fjord, Hartl and her colleagues found trees that didn't produce rings in 1945. This "exceptional stress response" didn't fit with the researchers' climate reconstructions, so they had to look for another explanation. And they learned that the Tirpitz had been stationed at Kåfjord, and was finally sunk by Allied bombs, in 1944.

Nicknamed "The Lonely Queen of the North" by Norwegians and "The Beast" by Winston Churchill, the battleship had been moored at Kåfjord to threaten Allied ships bringing supplies to the Soviet Union. Part of the Nazis' defense was to release chlorosulfuric acid into the air, which attracts moisture and can create a smoke screen. Hartl said there is not much in historical records about the environmental impact of the fake fog. The substance is known to be corrosive, and the group of soldiers responsible for producing this smoke had to wear special protection suits.

The researchers sampled pine trees from six sites near the fjord. Trees farther away from the Tirpitz's mooring were less affected by the fog. But at the site closest to the location of the battleship, 60 percent of the trees didn't produce a ring in 1945, and some of the trees didn't grow for several years after the war. Hartl's team thinks the trees lost their needles due to the fog, which harmed their ability to photosynthesize.

War dendrochronology could join other nascent fields like "bombturbation" (the study of how bombs alter landscapes) as scientists begin to investigate the environmental impact of war.

"What I think is very interesting is the human impact on ecosystems," Hartl told Live Science. "If you have a drought event, the trees also show a growth decline, but you can also see that these trees recover, and usually, it doesn't take longer than five years. But in northern Scandinavia, through this Second World War impact, it took the trees 12 years to recover. That's a really strong impact."

Source: Live Science.

Environmental Journalism Workshop

The subject of environmental sustainability is fast dominating the news; this has made the term Environmental Journalism popular.

The Environmental Journalism Workshop organised by The Green Institute and hosted by Civic Media Lab located at 13A Isaac John, GRA Ikeja Lagos was an eye opener for budding environmental journalists. Speaking at the event were Adenike Akinsemolu; Founder of The Green Institute and Wana Udobang; a journalist, poet and filmmaker. The event was anchored by Odunayo Aliu, the Campus Director of the Green Campus Initiative.

Adenike Akinsemolu

Adenike Akinsemolu elaborated on the science of climate change and how the scientific jargons can be translated into everyday language of the people. She spoke on how journalism can help win the battle of climate change using practical examples. Wana Udobang spoke extensively on the importance of writing a story that is relevant. She walked the participants through the basics of Journalism and also highlighted the ethics of the profession.

Wana Udobang

Bankole Temitayo; a spoken word artist presented his piece titled ‘My Dreams’.

Temitayo Bankole

Working in groups of four; each participant developed stories on these four major environmental issues: Pollution, Deforestation, Waste and Flooding. As reinforcement, best stories will be published on the Institute’s website.

Check out the pictures here