Niger’s School Forests Cool Classrooms While Teaching Climate Resilience
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📰 The quick summary: Urban forests in Niger’s schoolyards cool classrooms, provide food, generate income, and teach students about environmental protection while helping cities adapt to extreme heat and climate change.
📈 One key stat: Trees in 60 schools across Niger’s two largest cities include 62 woody species from 31 families, with 40% being fruit trees that enhance nutrition and learning environments in a region facing temperatures above 45 degrees.
💬 One key quote: “This is really an opportunity to combat climate change and poverty at the school level, and at the same time, educate students to understand the importance of trees in cities,” Moussa Soulé, from the University Dan Dicko Dankoulodo in Niger’s second-largest city, Maradi, told Mongabay.
1️⃣ The big picture: Niger’s schools are turning to urban forestry to combat extreme heat and address climate change impacts. Trees planted in schoolyards across Niamey and Maradi serve multiple purposes – cooling classrooms, providing food, generating income, and enhancing education. Research by Moussa Soulé identified 62 woody species across 60 schools, with many providing shade where students can learn outdoors when buildings are overcrowded. These green spaces represent protected areas within rapidly developing cities, offering students practical environmental education while creating more comfortable learning environments in a region where temperatures regularly exceed 45 degrees.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: Urban forests in schoolyards directly improve students’ learning conditions by creating cooler microclimates in a region plagued by intense heat waves. Fruit-bearing trees like mango, guava, and moringa supplement school meals, addressing nutritional needs while teaching practical lessons about agriculture and sustainability. School forests serve as protected green spaces amid urban development pressures, preserving biodiversity within city limits where 62 different woody species from 31 families have been documented. These educational green spaces combat desertification while developing the next generation of environmental stewards who gain hands-on experience with ecological concepts like composting, soil health, and tree maintenance.
3️⃣ What’s next: Municipal and educational authorities should integrate urban forestry into school infrastructure planning, involving students in planting and maintenance activities. Schools across Niger can expand their environmental curricula to utilize these green spaces as tools for botanical education and ecological literacy. Researchers recommend further studies on how to maximize the climate resilience benefits of school forests while continuing to protect them as urban green spaces.
Read the full story here: Mongabay – Urban forests in Niger’s schoolyards serve climate resilience and education
