Lagos Urban Development Initiative promotes green environment, addresses climate change

…As winners emerge in 2024 Greening Lagos competition

Determined to promote a sustainable environment in Lagos, the Lagos Urban Development Initiative (LUDI) has tapped youths’ potential to create practical and impactful solutions that benefit the environment and community.

The rapid rate of urbanisation has led to a lack of sufficient green spaces in Lagos, which has negative environmental impacts such as pollution and increased temperatures that affect the health and safety of residents.
LUDI instituted the Greening Lagos competition to encourage young Nigerians to use their creativity and problem-solving skills to suggest solutions that can address the shortage of green spaces.

Speaking at the cash presentation ceremony to the competition’s winners, Miriam Adenuga, project coordinator of the Lagos Urban Development Initiative, said the competition fits into the THEMES + Agenda of Lagos State, promoting a clean and green environment.

“THEMES + Agenda focuses on sustainability and inclusivity by pushing for community initiative. The idea is for communities to own projects, solve problems like climate change, and improve the environment so that dwellers can and improve the environment for dwellers to live healthier lives,” Adenuga said.
She said involving the youth would help them understand the importance of a greener environment and prepare them for future leadership roles.

“They say children are the leaders of tomorrow, but they can start leading now. Why do we have to wait till tomorrow? We are talking about sustainability; the idea is for things to live beyond our generation. it’s important to involve them now, if not they are going to be confused about whatever we are leaving for them,” she explained.

She further said that LUDI decided to partner with other stakeholders such as the Lagos State government through Lagos State Parks and Gardens, IITA, and FCMB to achieve better results.

The Greening Lagos Initiative, a project carried out in partnership with International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Amayi Foods, MOE+ Art Architecture, and The Lekki Bird Club aims to address the shortage of green spaces, slow down the detrimental effects of climate change, promote sustainable greening solutions in Lagos, and encourage young people to devise innovative and cost-effective solutions for greening the city.

Greening Lagos Competition 2024 lasted from the 20th of August to the 30th of September 2024 and was open to ages 10-12, 13-15, and 16-18. They submitted designs to show how their immediate neighbourhood and environment can be transformed by introducing green initiatives.

All entries received were reviewed by judges from academia, cultural institutions, architecture, and government, after which the best designs were selected according to their degree of innovation, aesthetic qualities, functionality, use of local materials and usefulness.

To build on the designs submitted and with the ultimate aim of implementing these projects, winners in the categories 13-15 and 16-18 were invited to be part of a workshop where they were paired with young designers.

At the workshop, they learnt how design can become an advocacy tool and how community collaboration can help drive inclusion.

They were taught to consider age, gender, people with disabilities, and environmental sustainability. The workshop brought a variety of experts together to share their knowledge and experience, this included the IITA who explained the need to consider certain crops and plants and various methods of farming to support the local economy.

The winners include Daniel Anyanonu, Oluwaseun Oluwabunmi Temitope, and Tariq Lawal (16-18); Nicole Rapu, Benita Besil, and Samuel Anyanonu (13-15); Emmanuel Chiemeka, Tijani Feyisara, and Moses Adediran (10-12), were awarded cash prizes between N50,000 – N200,000.

Meanwhile, partners would be expected to jointly implement the winning designs within the various winning communities in 2025, as phase 2 of the project.