The link between nature connection and health is becoming increasingly important given the ever rising cases of certain mental and physical health issues and the fact that millions of young people die yearly of non-communicable diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome due to environmental pollution.

Youth are at the forefront of realizing the importance of a greener, safer and healthier environment. It is beyond recognition that the youth have stood up and are now at the forefront in recognizing the relationship between the environment and humanity.

It is a worrying trend that over 1.5 million children under the age of 5 years die each year due to avoidable environmental hazards. Worried about the future of humanity and their planet, youth are creating environment clubs, environmental campaigns and using environmental rights to demand more actions to address climate changes worldwide.

The youth have realized the consequences of environmental degradation and they also know that the world needs them to act now. They have created rapport and are already creating environmental awareness initiatives in various nations.

There are a number of ways in which youth have been engaging in advocating for their environmental rights, environmental protection and coming up with various activities and programmes directed towards protecting the environment and finding remedy to the already worsened situations. Below are some of the initiatives carried out in my university community so far:

Since its inception, Maseno University Red Cross Chapter has been in the forefront of organizing and participating in tree planting exercises. Led by the current chairperson Mr. Carilus Gowa and his team, the chapter planted more than 1000 trees on Friday 6th September 2019. This has been a routine practice and the chapter aims towards planting more than 10000 trees before the end of this year.

The chapter is known for its immense environmental awareness campaigns and always lead the community in creating a greener and cleaner environment. “Our mission is to leave no knot untied, we are environment defenders and activists and we shall pass this mantle of environmental protection to our future generation,” says Mr. Gowa. 

Maseno University Red Cross Chapter organizes community clean-up exercises twice a year. They majorly target community markets, university premises and nearest public school compounds. This has been a routine exercise and they often dedicate particular dates for this activity in their chapter Calendar. 

It is important to note and support the effective programs of Maseno University Red Cross Chapter in order to benefit the vast society. The society is already benefitting from the youth innate capacity for innovative thinking and collaborative action towards environment protection.