In a groundbreaking win for Nigeria and the African continent as a whole, 17-year-old Nigerian-American climate activist and novelist Amara C. Nwuneli has been named Africa’s winner of The Earth Prize 2025, the world’s largest environmental competition for young people.
- Amara C. Nwuneli, a 17-year-old Nigerian-American climate activist and novelist, won The Earth Prize 2025 for Africa.
- She received $12,500 for her GREEN Initiative, aimed at transforming underserved urban regions in Lagos into sustainability parks and vibrant community hubs.
- Her idea aims to address the low green cover in Lagos.
Amara, the creator of Preserve Our Roots, a youth-led NGO that promotes climate action, received $12,500 for her creative and socially conscious project, the GREEN Initiative.
The 17-year-old Nigerian girl won for her idea to transform underserved urban regions in Lagos into sustainability parks, and vibrant community hubs that blend environmental education, climate storytelling, and green infrastructure.
These parks will not only provide safe, green areas for learning and interaction, but also serve as symbols of hope and action in the battle against climate change. Through this project, Amara hopes to inspire a greener Lagos while also contributing to a worldwide trend toward sustainable urban living.
Given the competition’s intention to create a greener world, Amara’s idea which targets a largely polluted city with only a 3% green cover, wowed the judges.
In hindsight the project is not just a green Initiative and a beautifying project, it is also a sensitization project, given how uninformed most Lagosians are of the effects of climate change.
For Lagos, a busy megacity dealing with flooding, pollution, and overcrowding, Amara’s initiative has the potential to raise environmental consciousness, provide young people with information and resources, and promote community-led green development.
The Earth Prize
The Earth Prize, now in its fourth year, has swiftly established itself as the world’s foremost environmental competition for youngsters, attracting teams from more than 150 nations.
Designed to inspire and empower the next generation of environmental leaders, the prize was expanded in 2025 to include seven regional winners from Oceania, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, North America, and Central and South America, each receiving $12,500 to put their groundbreaking ideas into action.
