By Matthew Idu, GLFx Ibadan and Ripple Heights Development Initiative

Ibadan, Nigeria’s largest city by area, is known for its undulating hills, open valleys and stretches of rust-colored roofs that define its iconic landscape. 

For decades, the city was surrounded by forests, farmlands and natural green buffers that moderated heat and absorbed seasonal rainfall. Today, that landscape is rapidly changing. 

Ibadan is a major educational and commercial hub in southwestern Nigeria, and its population has swelled with rural–urban migration, often with little environmental planning.

From around 1 million inhabitants in the 1970s, Ibadan is home to an estimated 4 million people today, and its built-up area has expanded more than tenfold since the 1950s. 

This means trees and green spaces have been cleared to make room for housing, roads, markets and schools – all concrete surfaces that trap heat and increase surface runoff. 

Neighborhoods that once supported thick vegetation now experience intensified flooding during the rainy season and rising temperatures during the dry months.

How the climate crisis impacts Nigerian students

Surface temperatures in Ibadan have increased noticeably as urban land cover has expanded. Studies using satellite data show that the city’s average land surface temperature has risen from about 17 degrees Celsius in the 1980s to 38 degrees by 2019.

This rise in urban temperatures has been accompanied by a decline in vegetation cover and growing threats from flooding and erosion. 

These climatic changes are impacting students across Nigeria, where some schools have limited ventilation and minimal tree cover. 

Classrooms often become unbearably hot, affecting the performance of students and teachers alike. Other times, schools are forced to close due to heavy rains and consequent flooding.

“Sometimes the sun hits the classroom so hard that you can’t even think,” says student Blessing Okafor. “Now we understand it’s because our surroundings are too bare.”

Markets and residential areas face similar heat stress, particularly during heatwaves.

The impacts of the climate crisis are no longer abstract ideas. They’re daily realities for students walking to school, for teachers navigating degraded footpaths and for families whose homes sit precariously along eroded slopes.

Yet teenagers are banding together to confront these challenges.

For years, not a single school in the area had a functioning environmental club, and tree seedlings were hard to come by.

But that all changed in June 2025, when the GLFx Ibadan chapter, supported by the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) and hosted by the Ripple Heights Development Initiative, launched a youth-focused environmental training program covering five secondary schools. 

This sparked a transformative journey of landscape restoration and awakened a sense of ownership, leadership and possibility in local students.

Awakening a new generation to landscape loss

My name is Matthew Idu, and I’m the program coordinator at Ripple Heights. Together with Nduaguba Emelda, a PhD student in forestry at the University of Ibadan, we visited these schools to speak about soil degradation, urban heat islands and deforestation.

We emphasized the cultural significance of trees in Yoruba culture. The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in southwest Nigeria and known for their rich traditions and close ties to the land. 

In rural Yoruba communities, trees and forests play important roles in livelihoods, spirituality and community life, often serving as gathering points, sources of food and medicine and symbols of continuity across generations.

MaryJane Adebisi, a senior secondary school student at Adesina College, never realized how much she had taken her environment for granted. 

“I didn’t know that cutting trees could make the weather hotter,” she tells us. “Now I understand why our classrooms feel like ovens during exams.”

For many students, this conversation was the first time they had connected their everyday struggles to the broader climate crisis.

“The path to the assembly ground now floods more than before,” says teacher Adeola Margret. “I didn’t know trees could help reduce that.”

We also shared the importance of planting trees that are native to West Africa. Together with the students, we planted black afara (Terminalia ivorensis) and limba trees (Terminalia superba).  These trees were chosen for their resilience and long-term ecological value. 

The Terminalia species are native to West Africa and help stabilize soils, improve fertility through leaf litter and provide habitat for birds and insects. 

We also planted Indian mast trees (Polyalthia longifolia), which, while non-native, grow quickly, tolerate urban conditions and help reduce heat. 

Together, these species enhance biodiversity, moderate urban temperatures and support ecological restoration in school and community spaces. 

“When I planted the tree, I felt like I was giving something back,” says student Ahmed Adeoye. “I want it to grow tall so I can point to it in the future and say, ‘I planted that.’

“Planting a tree felt like leaving a mark for the next generation. I felt proud because the tree will stand longer than I will. Maybe my children will still see it.”

Youth leadership in environmental ambassador clubs

We helped five schools establish a structured environmental ambassador club, complete with elected presidents, vice presidents, secretaries and activity coordinators.

These students help water trees, monitor seedling survival and report dead or stressed seedlings. They organize environmental awareness days and campus clean-ups and hold meetings twice a week to check on seedlings and spread environmental awareness. 

They also connect with their communities at large by partnering with local nurseries to acquire seedlings to plant during their events.

These clubs are also inspiring students to start considering careers in environmental sectors.

“Climate change is affecting everyone,” says Zainab Aderonke. “There will be many jobs in this area. Someone has to fix the damage done to the land.”

“If young people don’t enter environmental careers, Nigeria will suffer more,” says Jeremiah Makinde. “We need engineers who understand climate, farmers who plant sustainably and leaders who care about trees.”

From helplessness to hope

“When students understand why things are changing, they stop feeling helpless,” says Margret. “These teenagers will grow into leaders who shape policy, plant trees in their communities and advocate for sustainability. Youth leadership is essential, not optional.”

When asked about their hopes for their communities and landscapes, students shared a sense of longing and determination.

“My street used to have many big trees, but they cut them down to build shops,” says Okafor. “If every student in Ibadan plants just one tree, the whole city will look different in ten years.

“I want an Ibadan with more trees than houses. I want children to grow up seeing birds and butterflies again.”

“I hope flooding stops,” says Adeoye. “I hope our school becomes fully green and other schools copy us.”

“My dream is that our small seedlings become a whole garden one day, something the school will be proud of,” says environmental club president Yakubu Ummulhair. 

Going forward, our goal is to expand this movement to other secondary schools across Ibadan and other urban centers in Nigeria. We aim to deepen partnerships with school authorities, local nurseries, universities, community leaders and environmental organizations to ensure sustained access to seedlings, mentorship and technical support. 

I dream that today’s students grow into professionals, policymakers and community leaders who place nature at the center of development. As empowered young people, I know we can transform Ibadan into a greener, cooler and more resilient city.