Airtel Africa Foundation, through Airtel Nigeria, has launched the Airtel Green Schools initiative, a sustainability-focused programme designed to create environmental learning spaces in primary and secondary schools.
The spaces, which are branded Airtel Garden, have been introduced as part of Airtel Nigeria’s activities to commemorate the 2026 World Environment Day, themed “Climate Action”.
According to Airtel Nigeria’s schedule, the company’s 10 adopted schools, located in nine states across country’s six geopolitical zones, have been onboarded as Green Schools.
Each of the schools now features an Airtel Garden, with dedicated sections for edible crops, fruit trees and shade trees, enabling pupils to learn firsthand about food cultivation, biodiversity and the importance of increasing green cover to help mitigate the effects of climate change.
The gardens also incorporate composting stations where organic waste generated within the school environment can be converted into nutrient-rich compost. To boost circular economy practices, plastic recycling segments have also been built in to repurpose common wastes such as plastic bottles and tyres.
The beneficiary schools of the programme include St. George’s Nursery and Primary School, Ipaja, Lagos; Yahaya Primary School, Zaria; Iyeru-Okin Primary School, Iyeru-Okin, Kwara; St. John Primary School, Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State, and Community Primary School, Amumara, Imo State.
Others are Presbyterian Primary School, Ediba, Cross-River; Migrant Farmers Community Primary School, Umuahia, Abia State; Gwange III Primary School, Maiduguri, Borno State; Mayflower Secondary School, Ikenne, Ogun State; and Government Day Primary School, Gombe State.
Segun Ogusanya, Chairman of the Airtel Africa Foundation, highlighted the developmental focus of Airtel Garden. “We are excited to inaugurate Airtel Green Schools, which are designed to go beyond awareness and create real behavioural change within Nigeria’s school communities. Through the Restore, Reduce and Educate pillars, we are equipping young people with practical tools such as gardens, recycling awareness, and environmental learning resources. Our goal is to create a replicable Green School model that can be scaled and sustained over time, ensuring that environmental education becomes part of everyday learning for the children in our adopted schools,” he said.
A key feature of the launch programme is the signature “Read, Engage, Plant” experience, an immersive environmental learning model that combines storytelling, practical engagement and environmental action.
At the launch, Airtel staff from the Employee Volunteer Programme (EVP) led pupils of the adopted schools in the reading “Jojo and Jade, Heroes of Mother Earth” before joining in interactive environmental activities such as crop planting. The programme also featured a recitation of the climate action pledge and the inauguration of Airtel Garden Eco Club.
Speaking on the flag-off of Airtel Green Schools and Airtel Garden, the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Dinesh Balsingh, said, “Climate action becomes meaningful when awareness is translated into action. Through the Airtel Garden, we are creating living classrooms where pupils can learn practical lessons about environmental stewardship, sustainable agriculture, waste management and the importance of protecting our planet. We believe that empowering young people with these experiences today will help shape a more environmentally responsible generation tomorrow.”
The Airtel Green Schools campaign is built on the telecom giant’s sustainability theme of Reuse, Educate, and Restore. Through tree planting and garden development, the programme seeks to establish green spaces within school communities while promoting waste reduction and responsible environmental practices via composting and plastic recycling.
