Youth Action (Climate Change) Projects

Project Summary

A comprehensive 12-month youth-led climate resilience program implemented across five Local Government Areas in Yobe State, Nigeria, where 250 trained youth volunteers designed and delivered community-based climate adaptation actions that reached 15,799 residents in the drought and conflict-prone North-East region.

Detailed Story

Youth Action Climate Change Projects is a youth-led programme implemented in Local Government Areas of Yobe State including Potiskum, Fune, Fika, Damaturu and Nangere. 250 trained youth volunteers designed and delivered community-based climate-resilience actions that reached 15,799 residents, strengthening their capacity to adapt to and mitigate climate impacts in the drought and conflict-prone North-East region of Nigeria. The program focused on five key themes including Waste and Recycling, Sustainable Building, Water, Renewable Energy, and Air Quality. Goals included empowering 250 youths with market-relevant green skills and leadership abilities, improving environmental quality and resilience for at least 15,000 community members, fostering continuous community dialogue to embed climate adaptation practices in local culture, and demonstrating low-cost replicable climate solutions for arid Sahelian settings. Key activities included setting up 40 neighbourhood segregation points and organizing monthly Trash-for-Cash drives, converting 8 tonnes of organic waste into compost distributed to peri-urban farmers, demonstrating passive-cooling mud bricks in two pilot classrooms reducing indoor temperature by 4 degrees Celsius and cutting fan use by 60 percent, training 55 local masons on low-carbon construction techniques, installing 12 communal rain-harvesting systems with average yield of 28,000 litres per season and promoting household grey-water reuse, running water-safety clubs in 18 schools, distributing 500 solar-powered study lamps to off-grid students, building three micro-solar kiosks that provide phone-charging services and generate income for youth cooperatives, planting 2,500 drought-tolerant trees along dusty market roads, and holding Clean-Cook demonstrations where 600 households adopted improved stoves cutting firewood use by 35 percent. The program achieved remarkable quantitative results including 63 percent reduction in open dumping in pilot wards, 37 percent of households reporting at least one water-saving practice adopted within six months, 22 kWh per week of fossil-fuel electricity offset by solar kiosks, and average PM2.5 concentration near markets falling by 11 percent after tree planting. Youth confidence and civic engagement scores rose from 2.8 out of 5 to 4.3 out of 5, community dialogues produced 147 actionable suggestions with 71 percent incorporated into local development committees’ plans, local councils earmarked 12 million Naira for expanding rain-harvesting systems, two neighbouring LGAs requested replication toolkits, and alumni of the Leadership Programme are forming a regional Green Network to mentor the next cohort.

Impact Statement

250 youth volunteers reached 15,799 residents across five Local Government Areas, achieved 63 percent reduction in open dumping in pilot wards, 37 percent of households adopted water-saving practices within six months, converted 8 tonnes of organic waste into compost for peri-urban farmers, reduced indoor temperatures by 4 degrees Celsius in pilot classrooms through passive-cooling mud bricks, trained 55 local masons on low-carbon construction techniques, installed 12 communal rain-harvesting systems capturing 336,000 litres last season, distributed 500 solar-powered study lamps enabling off-grid students to study two extra hours nightly, built three micro-solar kiosks offsetting 22 kWh per week of fossil-fuel electricity, planted 2,500 drought-tolerant trees reducing PM2.5 concentration by 11 percent, facilitated adoption of improved stoves by 600 households cutting firewood use by 35 percent, generated 471,000 Naira through Trash-for-Cash drives, increased youth confidence and civic engagement scores from 2.8 to 4.3 out of 5, secured 12 million Naira from local councils for program expansion, inspired replication requests from two neighbouring LGAs, established regional Green Network for mentoring future cohorts