A Green Story from Young champions: Thoughtful Earth Day 2026

Photo Credit: Ethically sourced photo while engaging with Grade 7-9 learners

It's been a minute since I wrote here, though I am back after an extended break. Last year, I carried out a climate and mental health focused project with 32 learners in Kirinyaga County; Kenya. I discovered that taking care of our environment and our mental health sometimes does not require much resources, it just needs taking action, even if there could be uncertainties when taking initiative for the first time. 

Through the Akili Zetu, Mazingira Yetu Project, we turned our afternoons into enjoyable moments through exercises such as eco-gratitude walks around the school, I mean intentionally noticing what was in the biodiversity and appreciating it (I can vividly recall the learners picking the bougain villea flowers and attaching them to their hair, others holding them in their hands, ooh young environmental champions). We even planted local vegetables in sacks (while enlightening them on how the simple activity is affiliated with climate smart agriculture), as well as a section in front of the classes, ooh how enthusiastic we were.

Photo Credit: Ethically sourced photo while engaging with
a Grade 7 learner

Photo Credit: Ethically sourced photo while engaging with
Grade 7-9 learners

Additionally, we had climate journaling, and through this, the learners' mental health came first. This brings back the memories of the art that learners had put down on paper to show how they felt and how they perceived the weather occurrences. Also, we participated in eco-poetry, in both English and Kiswahili, and I could not forget the storytelling sessions that we had once the leaves began sprouting. For the storytelling, it was a whole new experience with learners, as the contexts of the stories 

were the vegetables; you can only imagine how immersive and lively this engagement was. 

Not to mention, we also segregated waste, into both biodegradable and non-biodegradable, where the learners (amicably) competed on who would correctly sort the waste. Through this, learners became conscious on how to manage waste around the school and their homes better. In this digital age, I had to show eco-friendly content to learners via YouTube, whereby we benchmarked from what other learners in Kitui County, Uganda and Nevada (USA) are already doing. 

Photo Credit: Ethically sourced photo while engaging with
Grade 7-9 learners 

While this contributed significantly to nurturing social behavioral change among the learners by 76 percent, there is something that clicked: that with such an experience, this did not feel like teaching the learners, rather, it felt like co-creating solutions and learning altogether. What was spectacular about this is that 24 learners expressed themselves more freely and indicated better classroom engagement.

As I contemplated of this just a while ago, I see that what we did for the Earth comprised of both individual and collective efforts. In 2026, commemoration of Earth day reminds me that meaningful impact can be done at the grassroots, with learners who choose to follow the path of sustainability through fun, intentionality and hands-on practice. Our Power is indeed our Planet, as we stand in solidarity with others in championing environmental policies.