I created this innovation after seeing how many students in north eastern Nigeria were immensely affected by change in climate. Although I started advocating for mental health awareness because many students were having mental health challenges which affected Thier performances without even knowing.
It was during one of our school outreach sessions, when we were about to establish a mental health club in a school, I then realised that although the clubs would be ran by trained personnel, but something was missing. The teachers had little or no training on how to handle students who were facing mental health challenges after witnessing some horrific climate disasters like their homes and farmlands being washed away by water and whatnot.
This gave me a new perspective, and that was how this innovation was borne. Students spend many hours per week with their teachers, so if the teachers were equipped with mental health knowledge, then they would be better positioned to tackle it's challenges.
In practice, it is very easy as opposed to carrying out mental outreaches. Educators are gathered in a training from different schools and classes, and are then trained and made aware of the issue of mental health and eco anxiety that lies surreptitiously amongst their students.
They are then trained on how to look out for and identify the signs in their students and also given educational resources and proven practical lectures on how to handle such cases as they come.
So far, so good. We have been able to impact over 100 school teachers here in North Eastern Nigeria, with over a 1500 school students reached with mental health awareness and the Mental health clubs formed are actively running too.
But we want it to spread further and this can only be possible if we are given the visibility.
We’ve expanded the innovation by adding a stronger focus on teacher training, recognising their key role in supporting students daily. We also introduced guided emotional check-ins, climate-mindfulness activities, and simple tools teachers can use to monitor eco-anxiety in real time. These updates make the programme more practical, responsive, and supportive for both educators and learners in climate-affected regions.
Like I mentioned earlier, it's very easy to try it. First off, identify a geographical area that has been negatively impacted by the effects of climate change. Most times they are depressed and full of anxiety, this is what is called Eco anxiety, because it is caused as a result of the change in climate leading to floods and whatnot.
Then, speak to school administrators letting them know that something like eco anxiety exists and there is a likelihood that it is preying on the minds of their students. This awakening will help you Introduce the project idea, letting the administrators know that their teachers need an intensive training on how to handle mental health challenges in the classroom.
