Ubaida Shehu Faruk is passionate about environmental education. She credits COL with not only her improved knowledge in environmental concepts but also her skills in using technology for teaching and learning.

Ubaida is among the many educators in Nigeria who have participated in Green Teacher Nigeria (GTN), an environmental education programme offered by the National Teachers’ Institute in Kaduna, Nigeria, with support from COL. GTN aims to foster positive attitudes, values and skills among young learners to support environmental protection and improvement.

“My exposure to so many learning strategies, and my improved skills in the use of technology, have had a positive impact on my capacity to deliver learning anytime, anywhere,” she says.

As a Principal Education Officer at her institution, Ubaida has been instrumental in imparting pedagogical content knowledge among teacher candidates, as well as problem-solving skills and environmental awareness among learners in the region.

She is particularly proud of the support she has received from her students’ parents, the local authority and the State Ministry of the Environment to start a tree-planting campaign. “The school children and their parents donated more than 200 trees, which we planted along the road to the school.”

As a champion of environmental education, she believes that teachers have a key role to play in building climate resilience.

“We need to strengthen our resilience to climate-related disasters. Teachers need to be trained to integrate relevant knowledge into teaching and learning activities, to mitigate climate change,” she concludes.