On January 20, the Sustainability Department held an orientation session for new graduate students.
The Field Research Officer, Rotimi Ogundijo, and Acting Manager of Sustainability Programs, Raymond Obindu, explained the various projects that the office organizes for the community. The project coordinators gave the history of the projects and the rationale behind their execution.
Mr. Ogundijo said those involved in the project have given the team exposure as they have traveled far and wide to make presentations on the various initiatives. The projects include Waste-to-Wealth, Creating-With-Thread, and Sustainable Agriculture.
He also explained that sustainable agriculture was born out of the desire to reduce waste and thereby protect the environment.
He explained further what the project entails making compost manure from the shrubs of trees and grasses which are mixed with cow dung for use on the farms.
He said they have done a lot of sensitization in this area by going into the communities to train farmers on the concepts so as to help them increase the shelf life of their farm produce and to farm at a cheaper cost.
Eco-building and Eco- briquettes projects made from the recycling of rubber bottles are other initiatives.
Eco-briquettes are made from recycled paper and sawdust for use in cooking. The Sustainability team said using it among community members reduces the rate at which people are falling trees.
Among the various organizations that they have partnered with include Environmental Care Foundation (ECF), Swiss Development Corporation, ExxonMobil Nigeria Limited, UNHCR, NYSC, and Women Development Center.
He said it is important that graduate students become aware of the various sustainable initiatives so that they can have multiple opportunities to contribute to society through research and development. He said since their office is also into research and development, they can find common areas to collaborate.
A Master's degree student majoring in Business Administration, Ms. Fatimah Abdulhamid, said she was delighted to hear about the various sustainability initiatives. She added that the orientation has stirred her mind to think more about research to improve one of the numerous projects.
Reported by Omorogbe Omorogiuwa