World Cleanup Day: A trip around the world in photos

As the globe celebrates World Cleanup Day September 20, we’re excited to spotlight some of the most prolific environmental heroes out there – children and youth!

Check out what just a few of our young people around the world are doing to help preserve Mother Nature’s beauty, champion climate action and advocate for a greener future.

Sierra Leone

Every tree planted is an investment in tomorrow’s clean, breathable air. Children and youth in our programs in Koinadugu District, Sierra Leone, are planting trees as part of a ChildFund-supported environmental education program.

The Philippines

Ever heard of an Eco-scout? Project Greenlight, a new ChildFund Philippines environmental education program, uses a classroom-to-forest approach to support young people in taking an active role in environmental protection and conservation, efficient energy consumption, waste management, awareness raising, local policy advocacy and more.

“We are learning the impacts of deforestation and degradation on our community, and so we encourage other children to become better stewards of our planet,” says Diwa, one of the Eco-scouts. 

Kenya

Children and youth in the informal settlement of Mukuru in Nairobi, Kenya, recently gathered to help plant a whopping 2,500 trees at the city’s Railway Training Institute! The event was complete with a children’s march to raise awareness about environmental conservation.

Bolivia

Wildfires in Bolivia have increased since the beginning of the millennium, with an annual average of 3.7 million hectares burned between 2001 and 2020. To help prevent deforestation in their communities, high school students at local ChildFund-supported schools recently came together to plant trees adopted by elementary school children inside and outside their school on the International Day of Forests.

In honor of the special occasion, a workshop on climate action and children’s rights was held the day before for the elementary school children. Together, the high school and elementary students planted 100 trees!

The Gambia

In The Gambia’s Western Region, teens and young adults in ChildFund’s programs celebrated International Youth Day with a massive community-wide cleanup – which also turned into a bit of a parade. They’re living proof that no action is too small to protect the environment.

United States

ChildFund’s AmeriCorps members, who help facilitate our programs for children in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, held a special beach cleanup of one of the neighborhood’s many beaches. The youth took initiative on their own to organize the cleanup, creating a presentation to staff to share their idea and, once they got the approval, to plan, coordinate and organize the event.

India

Four best friends from Hyderabad, India, have a special message for anyone who wants to protect our planet’s natural resources. How many of these can you do today?