18-year-old Nigerian Earth Prize winner Amara Nwuneli supports Slum2School Africa’s Green Academy initiative

Slum2School Green Academy, in Saga community, Epe, Lagos. Courtesy of Slum2School Africa Media

• 17-year-old Amara Nwuneli is founder of 'Preserve Our Roots', a youth-led NGO
• Her NGO's initiative 'Preserve Our Roots GREEN' is transforming neglected urban areas into green community hubs, by building sustainable parks made from recycled materials

• The solution was developed further throughout The Earth Prize 2025 thanks to 1:1 mentoring & was crowned Regional Winner for Africa
• Amara recently supported NGO Slum2School Africa's Green Academy Initiative

In an effort to bring green spaces to communities that need them most, 17-year-old Nigerian changemaker Amara Nwuneli, Regional Winner of The Earth Prize 2025, collaborated with Slum2School Africa to support the launch of their new eco-friendly green school in Lagos called the 'Green Academy'. This project was led and developed by Slum2School Africa in partnership with organisations invested in building a safe and just world for children and families in underserved communities.

The Slum2School Green Academy is Slum2School’s flagship eco-school, located in Saga, a riverine community off the coast of Epe, Lagos, with limited access to formal infrastructure and no previous access to public recreational or green learning spaces. Designed as a holistic learning environment, the Green Academy provides a safe, inclusive eco-friendly school for local children, integrating educational green architecture, play areas, innovative environmental learning features and community participation into its educational model.

As part of this collaboration, Preserve Our Roots supported the enhancement of the Academy’s play arena through the use of recycled and repurposed materials and equipment to promote sustainable play-based learning, supporting Slum2School Africa’s broader vision of creating a learning-friendly, sustainable environment for children. The play area features child-friendly climbing and play structures, bamboo-based architectural elements, seating and gathering points, and green elements adapted to the local terrain, creating a safe, engaging environment that supports both learning and play.

Slum2School Africa is a volunteer-driven organization providing access to education and holistic development for children and youths in underserved communities across Africa. Adekunle Idowu, Senior Project Manager at Slum2School Africa added:

The Slum2School Green Academy serves over 300 young people in Saga directly, with wider ripple effects across families and 7 surrounding underserved communities; providing learning spaces that inspire creativity, curiosity, and care for the planet.

Amara launched Preserve Our Roots after witnessing the lack of green space in rapidly growing cities like Lagos, where green areas cover just 3% of the total land area, limiting access to safe, natural environments for many communities. Her first eco park, built in Ikota using recycled materials and supported by volunteers, demonstrated how youth-led solutions can transform overlooked urban sites into inclusive green community spaces. Since being named Africa’s Winner of The Earth Prize 2025, Amara has launched a second eco park and is now working on the development of a third, continuing her efforts to bring sustainable green spaces and environmental learning to underserved communities across Nigeria.

Amara further developed Preserve Our Roots as part of The Earth Prize, being crowned Regional Winner for Africa in 2025. The Earth Prize is the world’s largest environmental competition and ideas incubator for 13–19-year-olds, empowering young people to tackle climate challenges with mentorship, learning resources, and shared $100,000 in funding. Since 2021, it has reached nearly 21,000 students across 165 countries, awarding over $500,000 to support real-world solutions. Each year, seven Regional Winners are selected by an expert jury, before a global public vote determines the Global Winner. Alumni have been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, HuffPost, and more.

Amara Nwuneli commented:

Peter McGarry, Founder of The Earth Foundation, commented: