By Amarachi P. Onyena
I was privileged to have been selected, from a pool of outstanding applicants, to join the 2021 inaugural cohort of Project Green Course (PGC)-Turning Green, a virtual programme for students from all over the world. A total of 24 men and ladies were chosen to participate in the training. Students here bring enthusiasm, a diverse range of experiences, and a commitment to addressing environmental issues in their communities, countries, and region.
Turning Green, a non-profit organization, manages the PGC initiatives. She is a global movement dedicated to promoting environmentally sustainable and socially responsible choices through education and advocacy in order to foster a healthy, just, and thriving planet. Its programme includes Project Green Course (PGC), Project Green Challenge, TG Internships, and Conscious Kitchen. PGC is an interactive, interdisciplinary virtual course for undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students that explores climate and social justice, sustainability, activism, and public health.
The 24 participants, who are now official Turning Green (TG) members, collaborated across disciplines over the duration of a 15-week course. Participants’ critical thinking, leadership, and communication skills improved as a result of the workshop, as did their understanding of environmental and social justice issues. The PGC 2021 was a 15-week independent study for students from five continents who were given equal access to knowledge and resources in order to rally the next generation of leaders around climate change.
Throughout the final six weeks, participants collaborated on Climate Action Projects (CAPs), designing, creating, and implementing campaigns to improve their communities. The course’s goal was to bring together a global community of students who care about the environment in a communal setting to have conversations, learn from, and encourage one another during a difficult time on the planet.
The exploitation of natural resources and increased environmental devastation in Nigeria have all been exacerbated by the growing human population, the pursuit of money, urbanization, and industrialization, which served as the motivation for my CAP. Pollution can be difficult to recover from quickly, posing serious threats to aquatic ecosystems, species, and humans. The Niger Delta, for example, remains the epicenter of Nigerian oil and gas production and related operations. Since the discovery and boom of oil in the area drew massive industrial projects over the decades, the region has positioned itself as one of the five most severely petroleum-damaged ecosystems in the world. Drinking water that is safe to drink and sustainable fishing have become pipe dreams.
As a result, as part of the fight for sustainable water, my CAP was in the Niger Delta’s Western Delta. Water samples were collected from highly polluted areas. The water analysis results paint a clear picture of the grave danger that anthropogenic activities pose in the area. Burning hydrocarbons pollutes water and harms public health, causing skin lesions, respiratory ailments, food poisoning, and cancer, as well as changing aquatic ecological factors such as low aquatic life assemblage, infertile land, the disappearance of mangroves and the loss of mangrove services such as aeration and carbon sequestration, and wildlife extinction. Heavy metal and hydrocarbon compound concentrations were rising.
The water quality index (WQI) in the study ranged from poor to unsuitable for various water needs, while the potential ecological risk index (PERI) for all heavy metals indicates ecosystem hazards, including biodiversity. Despite the fact that other non-industrial activities may also contribute to poor water quality, heavy metals and hydrocarbons (from accidental and bunkering oil spills, shipping, industrial waste, and so on) are the primary contributing elements resulting in water pollution in the Niger Delta.
Based on the realization that the earth is interconnected and nature provides us with critical environmental services without which we would perish, it is critical that we conserve it. Furthermore, as we approach the 2030 Ocean Decade, there is an urgent need to develop monitoring strategies aimed at meeting the various water needs of coastal communities, as access to clean water in the Nigerian Niger Delta becomes increasingly difficult, and as a critical Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).
My motivation for taking part in the programme was my belief that we can all make a difference, both individually and collectively. Climate change is real and urgent, and we must accept responsibility not only for ourselves, but also for future generations.
She volunteers to teach Nigerian youth about science, technology, water pollution, climate change, mangrove restoration, health and safety, and environmentalism in her spare time. As an environmental advocate, she continues to advocate as a Lecturer, in academic publications, and on her own blog. In her professional capacity, she works at NMU in the areas of graduate studies, community development, research, innovation, and outreach. She is a member of the Nigeria Environmental Society, the NMU Ocean Acidification Team, and the West African Society of Toxicology, among others. She joined the Team of Five following the March 2020 World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW) General Assembly to ensure the establishment of the Nigerian Chapter, which is now nearing completion.
She is currently working on molecular research at India’s CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, which is funded by The World Academy of Science (TWAS). She is committed to using innovation, standards, science, and technology to improve water quality and environmental management in areas impacted by anthropogenic stressors and other environmental contaminants, in order to reduce the negative effects on ecology, socioeconomic values, and the health of marine life and society in Nigeria and around the world.
Ms. Onyena, is a postgraduate student at the University of Lagos and a staff member at Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko