Students get their hands dirty learning about soil management

5 June 2024

To mark 2024 World Environment Day, the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) brought their lab to the UN complex in Nairobi (UNON) to teach students the basics of soil management and opportunities for restoration.

During the workshop on “The pathway to healthy soil management”, 40 students from Aga Khan Academy, Lenana School and Kenya High School got their hands dirty learning about different types of soils, causes of land degradation, best practices and nature-based solutions to soil management.

“The learning journey allowed them to investigate and touch soils and move through how we at CIFOR-ICRAF make evidence-based decisions about what are the soils susceptible to degradation and where to restore land”, said Khalil Walji, Scientist and Deputy coordinator of Landscapes at CIFOR-ICRAF.

“It was really fun to get my hands dirty. I also liked to learn about the technology we can use to know more about soil, like satellites. Maybe one day I can be using them in my day-to-day life”, said Adrian Tinega, a 15-year-old student from Aga Khan Academy.

This year, World Environment Day focused on restoring land, halting desertification and building drought resilience. The campaign was celebrated under the theme “Our Land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration”, raising public awareness and calling on governments and multilateral organizations to fulfil their commitments.

Watch a compilation of the best moments!

More pictures are available here.