By Muskan Singh | Reporting Team
Dear Donors,
Greetings from The Rahul Kotak Foundation.
Our previous reports have shared updates on the progress of our projects and the work taking place across our communities. In this report, we bring you recent updates from our Climate Action Workshops and a learning visit to an Arboretum.
Climate Action Workshops in Progress
Since we began our Climate Action Workshops in 2022, more than 800 students have been trained, including 235 students reached so far this year from Central Primary, Alendu and Nyamware Primary Schools.
The workshops combine discussion, activities and practical learning to make environmental topics more accessible and relevant to students.
Valary, our climate action speaker and facilitator, shared that most students came into the sessions with a basic understanding of the environment. The scavenger hunts and Climate Champions talk were particularly interactive, encouraging students to explore their surroundings and think beyond what they already knew.
Some of the most interesting moments came from the questions students asked. One discussion centred around a simple question: must we love trees to plant them? The conversation moved towards responsibility, how we may not always enjoy everything that is good for us, but we still recognise its value. In the same way, caring for trees and the environment is a responsibility we all share.
For Valary, the workshops have also been a learning experience:
“Before the workshop, I thought I knew about climate and climate change, but after holding these sessions, I learnt that I have to learn a lot more.”
Each student also receives a plant after the workshop, giving them something to care for beyond the session and put the teaching into practice.
School Gardens: Learning Through Practice
The workshops are supported by practical learning opportunities within the schools. At Central Primary, an existing school garden provides students with a space to observe and care for plants beyond the classroom.
Built in 2024, we planted more than 950 seedlings in the garden, including shrubs, flowers and trees such as acalypha, eucalyptus, bougainvillaea, marigolds, spider plants, ferns, blue daze, verbena and moss rose, among others.
The garden is one part of our wider effort to help students connect what they learn during the workshops with the natural environment around them.
Learning Beyond the Classroom
For our Scholars' Term 2 Workshop, scholars were hosted at an Arboretum - Kajok'Oby for a day of environmental learning outside the classroom.
Led by Obi and Hilda, the visit included guided tours through medicinal and ornamental plants and an active beekeeping operation. Scholars were encouraged to interact with what they encountered, smelling, touching and even tasting different plants along the way.
For some, it was their first introduction to the Oyster Nut, while Annatto seed pods offered a hands-on lesson in how plants can provide natural colour. The guides also shared traditional knowledge, including the belief that one plant can bring security to a homestead when planted at its gate.
The visit also introduced scholars to agri-economy, how nature and agriculture can support livelihoods, from medicinal plants to honey production. Scholars were encouraged to plant at least one tree a day over the holidays.
Let's Take the Project Further
The Arboretum visit was made possible through the generous donations towards our Scholars Fund. We would like to create similar opportunities for students taking part in our Climate Action Workshops, alongside continuing to reach more students through the workshops themselves.
This year, we had hoped to expand the project to additional partner schools, develop more school gardens and eventually introduce student-led climate clubs. Limited funding has meant that this expansion is taking place more slowly than we had hoped.
A recurring donation of $25 can help us reach five students through a combination of practical and theoretical Climate Action Workshops. With consistent support, we can continue building the programme and create more opportunities for students to learn, ask questions and take small actions of their own.
Thank you for helping us keep climate learning active, practical and accessible to more students.
Links:
By Muskan Singh | Reporting Team
By Muskan Singh & Shelton Ogada | Team RKF
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