Youth come together for beach clean-ups, home gardening and more
Man Grow: Planting mangroves in Kinniya
Six unique projects aimed at involving youth to take action against climate change were carried out under the Active Citizens Social Action for Climate Change initiative in the Trincomalee District earlier this year.
The programmes were a joint effort by the British Council of Sri Lanka in partnership with Muslim Aid and comprised the Kinniya Climate Resilience, Parijatham, Muttur Guardians, Tidy Tide, Diamond Model Village and Man Grow.
The Kinniya Climate Resilience project was targeted at creating climate change awareness and promoting social leadership among youth in Trincomalee. Senior students of Al Irfan Maha Vidiyalayam in Kinniya took part in a one-day workshop encouraging them to engage in clean-up campaigns, participate in tree planting and other remedial efforts.
Parijatham, carried out in the Potkeni Village, focused on poverty relief and environmental change. “The villagers are dependent on home gardening and agriculture for their livelihoods. Devastating amounts of chemical fertilizers are used here in the interest of having higher yields. The project intended to incentivise organic agricultural practices and instil healthy eating habits among the community,” a volunteer explained.
Muttur Guardians saw a ‘shramadana’ (clean-up) held to eliminate algae and pollutants from water bodies in Nadutheevu, Muttur. In similar mode, the Tidy Tide project strived to raise awareness by organising beach clean-ups and installing waste bins with the support of the Trincomalee Urban Council, volunteers, and residents.
Under the Diamond Model Village project, 20 families were incentivised to embrace organic farming in Muttur. This involved constructing a greenhouse, reforestation and industry experts educating the community on the benefits of organic farming.
The sixth project, Man Grow, attempted to mitigate frequent natural disasters in Kinniya by planting mangroves along the coastline.
While tackling climate change was the primary objective of the initiative, the Active Citizens project also helped bring people from different communities together. The organisers hope to extend it to other parts of the country, too.
Muttur Guardians: Cleaning up the Muttur beach
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