Young Champions Leading in Climate Action

Students from Kundarilla Comprehensive School show case their project

Building climate resilience begins with knowledge. WildlifeDirect’s pioneering Climate Action Programme is helping students across Kenya and Rwanda to recognise climate change and take action in their areas. The year-long Climate Action Programme was rolled out early in 2026 across 106 schools, with a total of 6,030 learners, including children with intellectual disabilities. It combines climate education and capacity building for teachers with student-led projects and grants to support practical climate action solutions.

The programme began by investing in teachers, key patrons in WildlifeDirect’s nature education mission and essential components for reaching the broader network of learners. Teachers have undergone climate literacy training, learning to connect global climate problems with local challenges and to find relevant solutions for environmental resilience and food security. They have also been trained on six climate action modules developed by WildlifeDirect.

Furthermore, teachers benefit from learning resources to help them deliver climate education in practical and child-friendly ways, and receive monthly mentorship from climate experts. Evolutionary biologist Dr. Dino Martins presented the impacts of climate change on insect and pollinator biodiversity and the effects on communities. Soil microbiome expert and social tech-novator Su Kahumbu tackled the connection between climate, soil and food security.

Cascading the programme to schools, children in environmental and wildlife clubs have progressed through the six modules in the last three months. They understand how global climate change is affecting East Africa. From their teachers, they’ve learned about changing weather patterns, biodiversity, soil, regenerative farming, pollution, declining pollinators and invasive pests. Learners can now identify the environmental impacts of climate in their schools or communities and, guided by their teachers, are designing creative and practical solutions.

“We believe that Africa’s greatest climate solution lies in its young people,” said Trish Sewe, Climate Reality Leader and COO of WildlifeDirect.  “By empowering teachers and students with foundational climate science and practical conservation skills, we are building a continent where every child has the knowledge, confidence, and opportunity to lead meaningful climate action.”

School children have been instructed in soil health, comparing healthy soil with degraded earth to understand why some areas support vegetation and others seem to struggle. With this information, some pupils have turned into ‘green gardeners’, beautifying their grounds with ornamental gardens demarcated by discarded glass bottles and planted with attractive local species.

Kitchen garden by club members from Rumuruti Deb School

The impact of Climate Change on farming and food production inspired pupils at Rumuruti Deb Primary School in Laikipia, central Kenya, to build a multi-story vegetable garden. It is a type of vertical farming tool that maximizes vegetable yield in places with limited farming space. Students at Kundarilla Comprehensive School, also in Laikipia, strategically collected water at washing points and used this to water their vegetables. Some other schools have transformed small patches of unused ground into thriving vegetable gardens using used plastic containers, bottles and old car tyres.

From the Energy Detectives module, learners at Ebusil Primary and Junior School in Vihiga County of western Kenya were taught how to use cow dung, sawdust and soil to make domestic-use fuel. “They also learned that it’s important to save energy because some sources can be depleted,” said teacher Rose Ochana.

At Kilifi High Vision Academy in coastal Kenya, educator Duncan Mwatsum noted that students can now observe and record energy consumption patterns related to lighting, ventilation, electronic devices, and water usage. “They were able to evaluate their findings and identify specific instances or behaviours where energy is being inefficiently used or wasted.”

After studying weather patterns in the Weather and Climate module, pupils at Amboseli Comprehensive in south Kajiado County and Nyabera Primary Schools in Kisumu County drew pictorial weather charts depicting their local climate. They can track daily temperatures, rainfall, sunshine and wind, and are beginning to recognise patterns like changing rainy seasons, longer dry spells, or more frequent storms.

From the Pollution Patrol module covering reusing, recycling and reducing, the children at Busia Air Strip Primary School in western Kenya gathered discarded paper and crafted papier-mâché sculptures.

Kotoo Primary School club members watching an episode from Team Sayari as part of their activities for module one of climate change

The Our Planet, Our Home module helps teachers and children understand the interconnectedness of everything and the impact of human actions on Earth. “They understand the things we do out of ignorance, e.g., throwing out papers and bottles as they travel, and the danger they can cause,” said teacher Wilson Githinji of Limunga Comprehensive School in Laikipia.  “We came up with the slogan “My action, my nature.”

Schools that complete the modules and create a viable solution for a climate-related issue stand a chance of winning a USD 500 grant from WildlifeDirect to convert their ideas into climate action projects.

In August 2026, teachers will participate in a Climate Action Programme Workshop to deepen their understanding of biodiversity conservation, regenerative agriculture and healthy soils, as well as practical techniques for sustainable land management before leading the next phase of school-based activities. The programme will conclude with each school hosting a Green Assembly Day or Climate Action Week for students to celebrate their achievements, receive certificates recognising their leadership and showcase their projects to their communities. They will also lead their communities in a clean-up of their area.

The Climate Action Programme is inspiring curiosity, critical thinking and student-led action. It proves that meaningful climate action starts with informed teachers who pass on the knowledge to children, giving them the confidence to develop relevant solutions.

For more information, please reach out to:

Damaris Muthanji, Education Officer: damaris@wildlifedirect.org