RCE Buea - 2023

Location

Cameroon
See map: Google Maps
CM
National Environmental School Clubs Competition 2022
CSV
Basic Information
Title of project : 
National Environmental School Clubs Competition 2022
Submitting RCE: 
RCE Buea
Contributing organization(s) : 
Green Cameroon, Black Mornach Designs, FAAFNET
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
Masango S. Sone
Organizational Affiliation: 
Green Cameroon
E-mail: 
info@greencameroon.org
Format of project: 
Text
Language of project: 
English
Date of submission:
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Web link: 
https://www.greencameroon.org/green-cameroon-organizes-the-first-ever-national-schools-environmental-clubs-competition-in-cameroon/
Does this project link to any education and/or sustainable development policy or policies?: 
Yes
3, Good Health and Well-being, 4, Quality Education, 6, Clean Water, 12 Responsible consumption and Production, 13, Climate Action, 14 and 15
At what level is the policy operating?: 
National
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Africa and Middle East
Country: 
Cameroon
Location(s): 
South West, Center and Littoral Regions
Address of focal point institution for project: 
Green Cameroon, Buea Town Green Stadium, Buea, Cameroon
Ecosystem(s):
Agricultural, Coastal, Forest, Mountain, Wetlands
Target Audience:
Community, Youth (Informal)
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
Cameroon’s extensive climatic, geographic and ecological diversity has not given rise to the levels of economic prosperity anticipated when the country gained its independence from both France (1960) and Britain (1961) and became a unified nation in 1972. An early track record of growth based on agriculture and forestry was bolstered by exploitation of petroleum reserves in the 1980s, promising a bright future for Cameroon’s growing population. In the late 1980s, however, sharp drops in the prices of Cameroon’s key exports – cotton and coffee as well as oil – were followed by a major devaluation of the currency in 1993 and significant declines in per capita incomes. The economy has gradually recovered, but productivity growth in the agricultural sector has not been strong and forestry exploitation is reportedly advancing at an unsustainable pace even as it generates revenues through timber exports. The agricultural and forestry sectors account for only account for about 20% of GDP, even though two-thirds of the country’s 19 million people depend in whole or in part on incomes from these sectors.
Description of sustainable development challenge(s) in the area the project addresses: 
Green Schools Environmental Clubs Competition is an initiative through which Green Cameroon intends to engage and motivate schools, students and members of existing environmental clubs in Cameroon. The project permits these clubs to showcase their past and current activities carried out towards the conservation of nature and also serves as a source of encouragement to all those involve in the noble initiative of working towards Environmental Protection. It also serves as a medium for raising awareness at the levels of schools and communities towards the conservation of Nature in Cameroon.
Through the project, 30 secondary school environmental clubs from 3 region of Cameroon were selected and worked with during a period of 6 weeks. These clubs were assisted on showcasing their conservation activities in form of a competition in which 10 finalist schools were then selected for presentation to the general public for recognition and celebration through prices and awards. Dedicating some time, resources and attention towards these clubs and their activities in no doubt helped to boost their moral and encouraged both the students and their institutions to do even more as they were reassured that their conservation effort are yielding fruits and gaining public recognition.
Contents
Status: 
Completed
Period: 
February, 2022
Rationale: 
The project involved working with 90 school environmental clubs (30 from each region) selected from the Littoral, West and Center Regions of Cameroon. To avoid moving the students too far from their homes and to limit other risks related to long distance travelling, each of the 3 regions had its own final competition for the selection and rewarding of the ten best schools and later, the three best. The finals for each of the three regions brought together in a physical location the 10 best selected schools to further showcase their activities in form of a competition and the award of prices.
Competition Categories:
During the 6 weeks of intensive work with the schools, they were prepared and guided on how to present their conservation activities under the following categories in form of a competition.

- Environmental Knowledge (quiz)
- Environmental Songs
- Environmental Poems
- Environmental Sketches(Drama)
- Environmental Arts(Drawing and Paintings)
Objectives: 
The aim of the project is to involve youths in the protection of the environment and conservation of biodiversity while trying to bring about a general change in attitude towards conservation issues in our community, developing in them the love and awareness of nature and equipping them with the necessary knowledge needed to understand the environment around them to enable them contribute towards its sustainability. The project is very sustainable because it has to do with nurturing youths who will grow up to be leaders of tomorrow and get to apply what they have learnt and believe in. We strongly believe that this is a good strategy to attain a complete change of mentality in our society in the long run.



Trough this project, we work on creating awareness and impacting love for the environment in our youths. We do this through the creation and running of environmental clubs in primary, secondary and high schools. We have created and run more than 100 clubs since 2006 leading to the implementation of numerous conservation projects ranging from designing of plays aimed at sensitizing on environmental issues, to projects like, tree nurseries, flower gardens, fruit orchards, environmental corners, cleaning of rivers and other waste disposal/recycling schemes all planed and executed by students/club members under our supervision and support.


Activities and/or practices employed: 
General Tour of Schools
Visit to schools and environmental sensitisation
- Evaluation visits to schools
- Selection of 10 best schools for the final phase
- Selection of possible premises for the competition finals
- Acquisition of Trash cans for 30 schools
- Creation of whatsapp group for all schools worked with(Coordinators/Principals)
- Announcement of 10 Best Clubs/schools
- Preparation and assistance of 10 best schools towards competition
- Provision of support material to 10 best schools
- Confirmation of Competition venue
- Proposal of Jury members for Competition(7)
- Final visit to the 10 schools to ascertain readiness
- Reception and placing of trash cans/prices on competition ground
- Feeding and transportation of students/panel arranged and confirmed
- Conclusions made on competition venue
- Competition Proper is held
Size of academic audience: 
3000
Results: 
Through the project we were able to revamp environemntal clubs and nature conservation effort all through the country. We got clubs that were losing the steam to become active again and found a common platform for the exchange of ideas and resources. There now exist a national database of schools that have environmental clust and also a comprehensive list of the kind of activities they are carrying out. We have also documented their challenges and ways through which their effort can be encouraged
Lessons learned: 
Investing in youths is investing in the future and sustainable development can only be achieved if we train our children to understand the relationship between their happiness and the state of the environment. It is only when they realize that there would be no true happiness without a conducive environment that they can be motivated to take and play active roles towards the conservation of nature. The project’s timing was the biggest challenge we had with its implementation. This is because the project’s approval and funds for implementation were only release at a time when schools had totally closed their calendar for extracurricular activities for the year, under which the project falls. This greatly affected the project in that some schools with strict administrative principles, even with good and active clubs refused to take part in the program because end of year exams were near and students needed to prepare.

Our team also realized that, despite the high number of schools in the regions we worked, there are really many schools (about 80%) that do not operate environmental clubs and even with the few schools that have such clubs, the clubs are most often dormant for lack of activities or other motivational factors. Our team therefore had to scout through long distances and across subdivisions to be able to identify schools with active and vibrant clubs in each region.
Key messages: 
Investing in youths is investing in the future and sustainable development can only be achieved if we train our children to understand the relationship between their happiness and the state of the environment. It is only when they realize that there would be no true happiness without a conducive environment that they can be motivated to take and play active roles towards the conservation of nature.
Funding: 
Green Cameroon and RCE Buea wishes to thank IHS Cameroon for the opportunity and confidence bestowed upon them in the development and implementation of this project. We at Green Cameroon would wish to see this partnership continue to grow and flourish so that together with IHS, we can live a win-win relationship where our environment and communities are always the center of interest.

Pictures:

File Name Caption for picture Photo Credit
Image icon Green Cameroon. National schools environmental Clubs Competition1.jpeg (50.49 KB) Final Competition Ceremony and Award of prices for the Litoral Region Green Cameroon
Image icon Green Cameroon. National schools environmental Clubs Competition5.jpeg (87.33 KB) Final Competition Ceremony and Award of prices for the Western Region Green Cameroon
Image icon Green Cameroon. National schools environmental Clubs Competition1.jpeg (50.49 KB) Samples of Trash cans and wheel barrows given out to schools Green Cameroon
Image icon Green Cameroon. National schools environmental Clubs Competition3.jpeg (17.43 KB) Cross section of competition juree in the West Region Green Cameroon
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs) and other themes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages 
Indirect
SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 
Direct
SDG 6 - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 
Direct
SDG 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 
Indirect
SDG 12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 
Direct
SDG 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 
Direct
SDG 14 - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development 
Direct
SDG 15 - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss 
Direct
Theme
Curriculum Development 
Direct
Forests/Trees 
Direct
Plants & Animals 
Direct
Waste 
Direct
ESD for 2030-Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 2 - Transforming learning and training environments 
state: 
Indirect
Priority Action Area 4 - Mobilizing youth 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 5 - Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level 
state: 
Direct
Update: 
No
I acknowledge the above: 
Yes