Nigerian Teen Amara Nwuneli Wins Earth Prize to Build Greener, Healthier Communities
At just 17 years old, Amara Nwuneli is already leading a movement to reclaim the environment—and reimagine what cities like Lagos could become.
On Wednesday, Amara was named the Africa regional winner of the 2025 Earth Prize, an international competition recognizing teenagers creating solutions for environmental sustainability. Alongside the honor, she received $12,500 in funding, which she plans to use to build three new community parks.
“I’m excited for the future,” she told Business Insider. And for good reason.
In a city like Lagos, home to over 17 million people, less than 3% of the land is green space. Amara wants to change that—one park at a time.
A Passion Sparked by Crisis
Amara’s journey into environmental activism began in 2020, when devastating floods overwhelmed her family’s home, displacing them and damaging her parents’ spice business. The trauma of that experience awakened a passion in her to make a difference.
A self-proclaimed “theater kid,” she used her storytelling skills to raise awareness, recording videos that eventually helped raise ₦2 million (roughly $5,000 at the time) to rebuild two schools.
That spark turned into a full-fledged mission: she founded a youth-led NGO called Preserve Our Roots, which went on to produce a 2023 documentary on Africa’s climate crisis—now available on YouTube. The film resonated with viewers, inspiring her to bring nature directly into underserved communities.
“People came to us and said, ‘But I don’t see it in my community. I don’t see nature,’” Amara recalled.
From a Dump Site to a Dream
In response, her team focused on building a community park—a green oasis in the heart of Ikota, a flood-prone, low-income area in Lagos. With the help of local artisans, they repurposed discarded materials like tires, metal, and wood to build a slide, swings, and climbing wall. It was a space where children could not only play but begin to reconnect with nature.
To protect the area from future floods, the team planted flood-resistant trees—part of over 300 trees planted across the wider region.
The park officially opened on March 1, transforming a once-forgotten dump site into a place of joy, learning, and hope.
“I remember when the children said, ‘Now something we can actually call beautiful,’” Amara shared. “It kind of broke my heart.”
From Pilot to Parks Across Nigeria
But Amara sees this initial project as only the beginning. With her Earth Prize winnings, she’s planning three new parks—not just playgrounds, but multi-functional community hubs complete with gardens, greenhouses, and waste collection sites.
One of the proposed sites is an old landfill in Lagos, pending government approval. The other two are in Ogun and Oyo States, regions also struggling with climate-related disasters like flooding and drought.
“I’m not satisfied,” she said. “I feel like every community needs this.”
Her ultimate dream? A “Central Park for Lagos”—a vast, accessible green space where nature and city life can thrive side by side.
A Rising Global Voice for Change
As the Africa winner of the Earth Prize, Amara is now in the running for the global prize, which will be determined by public vote starting Saturday.
Her story is a powerful reminder that age is no barrier to impact. Through creativity, resilience, and a deep love for her community, Amara Nwuneli is planting seeds—not just in the soil, but in the hearts of a new generation ready to build a greener future.
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