Raising new generation of Green Ambassadors: The SPP model for advancing climate education in Nigeria
Opinion
THE climate crisis has often been described as a race against time, but it is also a race against ignorance. Too many people still lack a clear understanding of the causes of climate change, its real-life consequences, and the practical solutions available to slow its impact. Since climate change is fundamentally a human-induced crisis, addressing it requires changes in human behaviour, and behavioural change begins with awareness.
In recognition of this, The Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP) developed a Climate Education Manual, a long-term resource, designed for schools to equip teachers and students with the knowledge and tools to understand climate science and promote sustainable living. The manual was co-created with students, teachers and education stakeholders, and officially unveiled in March 2025, with support from the University of Bristol, UK. The goal was not merely to publish a document, but to institutionalize climate literacy among the younger generation.
Following the unveiling of the climate education manual, SPP commenced a series of climate education engagements, taking the message directly to students through school outreaches, interactive learning sessions, and tree-planting exercises that connect climate knowledge with practical environmental stewardship. SPP has reached over 20, 000 students across 70 schools
In recognition of the critical role that teachers play in shaping young minds, and the need to ensure that accurate climate knowledge is effectively passed on to future generations, SPP expanded the initiative through capacity-building programmes for teachers. Working in partnership with education authorities, the organisation equipped teachers with the knowledge and resources needed to serve as climate education multipliers, integrating climate education into classroom learning
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In Abuja, SPP worked with the Secondary Education Board to begin the training of teachers across the Federal Capital Territory, starting with schools in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC). Also, SPP entered into a strategic partnership with DCR Ambassadors to train teachers, with a focus on the North East, beginning with Adamawa as a pilot state. The programme was a six-month climate education effort for junior and senior secondary school teachers in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States respectively.
By 2026, this capacity building model for educators had matured into deeper state-level engagements. In Enugu State, SPP worked with the Office of the First Lady and the Office of the Senior Adviser to the Governor on Climate Policy and Sustainable Development to train 40 Climate Champions on the use of the Climate Education Manual, with support from UNICEF, Enugu Field Office. These climate Champions are expected to drive a pilot climate education campaign in selected secondary schools across Enugu State.
This capacity-building campaign was also extended to young Nigerians serving under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). In Abuja, SPP took the climate education campaign to the NYSC orientation camp in Kubwa, presenting climate change not as a distant policy issue but as a practical challenge that young Nigerians will inherit and help solve. Beyond introducing Corps Members to the fundamentals of climate change, the engagement highlighted the growing importance of green skills in an evolving global economy. Over 4,000 youth corpers and officials were exposed to emerging opportunities in sustainability and the broader green economy, helping them to see climate action not only as a responsibility, but also as a pathway for innovation, entrepreneurship, and employment.
Most recently, the organisation has focused on sustainability through school-based green clubs. In Abuja, SPP collaborated with Army Day Secondary School, Mogadishu Cantonment, to strengthen Green Environment Clubs as part of the World Environment Day 2026 outreach. The programme increased students’ interest, attended by over 100 participants, led to the establishment of a new club, and helped refine the club’s action areas around composting, recycling, open-burning reduction, and afforestation. The engagement opened further opportunities for the students, including an invitation to participate in the Nigeria Youth Climate Summit.
The real significance of SPP’s climate education campaign lies not only in the number of people reached, but in the structures and systems it is helping to build for the future. A trained teacher carries climate knowledge into the classroom year after year. A climate champion takes the message into communities. A green club turns awareness into everyday practice, and together, they demonstrate that climate education is most effective when it moves beyond information-sharing to become embedded in the institutions and people that shape society for sustainable development.
In a climate conversation often dominated by finance, technology and infrastructure, SPP’s Climate Education Initiative is a reminder that lasting change also depends on educating and creating awareness to engage people, especially teens and children, to understand the climate and environmental challenge and be equipped to respond to it. SPP is determined to carry on with these far-reaching climate education campaign across Nigeria to build awareness and inspire action among its teeming young population for sustainable development.
Timothy Ogenyi, & Ugochukwu Uzuegbu.
F.O
Tags: Climate Education SPP