Reputable schools and organizations from across Nigeria took part in CNN’s third annual Call to Earth Day on 28th November in a day of global action to raise awareness of environmental issues and engage with conservation education.
In the week that COP28 began in the United Arab Emirates, CNN’s Call to Earth Day celebrated a planet worth protecting through special programming across TV and digital and by partnering with schools, individuals and organisations across the world focusing on the crucial connection between cities and wilderness.
One of the organisations in Nigeria that took part in Call to Earth Day was Greenfingers Wildlife Conservation Initiative, which marked the day by turning plastic wastes into fashion pieces. Chinedu Mogbo, Founder of Greenfingers Wildlife Conservation Initiative, explained why they participated in this initiative. “Our Artivism which involves the upcycling of Plastic waste into Fashionable pieces was organized in a bid to raise awareness about Plastic pollution and marine habitat pollution. We believe that we all can lend our voices in our own little way – and this is our own way”.
Another Nigerian organization that joined the Call to Earth is Green Growth Africa. Their activity also addressed the issue of plastic pollution which is one of the greatest threats to aquatic ecosystems and life in water, Africa. They also flipped the script to beat plastic pollution by upcycling thousands of waste plastic sachets popularly known as “pure water” into 150 school bags, which were distributed for free to students in rural areas.
In addition to the participants in Nigeria, schools like Corona School and James Hope were part of a global initiative that saw over 200,000 participants in more than 100 countries around the world participating in Call to Earth Day. These schools made a difference to their local communities by holding events including tree plantings, conservation assemblies and making environmental awareness videos. Some schools also utilized lesson plans developed by Climate Change Education Consultant Kottie Christie-Blick as a learning resource for children from the ages of 5 to 17.
Other programming on CNN during the day included a special documentary titled Our Shared Home and reporting and live broadcasts from around the world on CNN International and CNN en Espanol TV networks, digital and social media platforms as well as CNN Arabic and on CNN Max in the US. This reporting examined environmental solutions and explored projects from locations around the world in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and both North and South America
Call to Earth Day is part of Call to Earth, a major network initiative launched by CNN in 2019, in partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative, shining a light on those committed to safeguard our planet for future generations. Over the last four years, this award-winning programming has told stories of change-makers, visionaries and ground-breaking projects making a difference to the world around them.
