Meg Wah, VoNat Send-forth 60 Biodiversity Conservation Ambassadors

Cameroon conservation non-profit organizations, Meg Wah (My Earth) and Voice of Nature (VoNat), have sent forth some 60 kids from communities within the Mount Cameroon to serve as biodiversity conservation ambassadors and climate change mitigation activists in their homes, communities and schools. This was during the closing ceremony of the 2020 edition of the annual EcoKids programme at the Youth and Animation Centre in Buea, October 31, 2020.

Coming on the heel of a 2-month experiential learning on species conservation and climate change through folktales in campfire at the Limbe Botanical Garden, the event was a unique opportunity for the youngsters to exhibit what they have been doing. The children danced, presented poems, songs, a debate, drawings, and a drama with unique conservation and climate change mitigation messages, to the admiration of their friends, parents, conservation non-profit organizations, representative of the South West Regional Delegate of Forestry and Wildlife, and that of Environment Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development.

The representative of the South West Regional Delegate of Forestry and Wildlife to the event, Madam Mbella, appreciated Meg Wah and VoNat for exposing the kids to biodiversity conservation and climate change knowledge. “With the knowledge this children are getting, they will perform much better than us in their love for nature. I was only exposed to this in the University. From the sketches, poems, drama etc. it’s clear that the love for nature has been implanted in these kids. I think every kid in this nature should be exposed to such initiative. It’s a wonderful approach Meg Wah and Voice of Nature have taken,” she divulged.

Meanwhile, the parents pledged not to relent in “sending our children to learn about the environment because when they do this, our natural resources will be conserved and we will be very rich in the future”. The event culminated in the distribution of notebooks with conservation messages, the coronation of each kid with a t-shirt bearing the inscription “I am an environmental ambassador” and the crowning of Fai Ella Pauline as the Queen of EcoKid 2020. Meanwhile, three best kids were awarded special prizes.

The youngsters already have an idea of what they will be doing as conservation ambassadors. “ I am going to tell my friends, brothers and parents not to cut down trees indiscriminately because we need trees in our communities; I will spread the news that we need to do this to prevent floods, droughts and climate change as a whole,” Fai Ella, just like her peers, promised.

The 2020 edition of the annual EcoKid Programme commenced in August 2020 with an arts competition which saw the selection of some 60 kids; 40 in Limbe and 20. Since September 2020, these kids have been involved in an experiential learning at the Limbe Botanical Garden where they seat around the three-stone fire site eating fresh corn and plump while listening to age-old tales about biodiversity species and the changes in the climatic conditions from old folks.

This is interspersed with comedy, dancing, debates, poetry, drama and singing amongst others. This edition of the programme which sought to boost the appetite of children and youths in species conservation, and climate change was organised by Meg Wah (My Earth) in partnership with Voice of Nature (VoNat), with funding from Earth Rising Foundation and A Seed of Change.