On December 13th, in Gampela, Burkina Faso, a simple yet powerful initiative took root at La Grâce primary school. Thanks to the commitment of one of our Youth Conservation volunteer tutors, Oussena KABRE Moussa, 40 students were trained in composting to enrich their school garden.
This practical activity perfectly illustrates our vision of hands-on environmental education.
Learning by doing: turning waste into a resource
Beyond the technical skill, this activity became a true life lesson. By learning how to transform organic waste into compost, students discovered essential principles:
Nothing is wasted in nature
Waste is not an endpoint, but a beginning. When understood and valued, it becomes a resource for the soil.
Soil is alive
The earth needs care, respect, and attention. Caring for the soil is also caring for the future.
These lessons, learned through direct experience, have a lasting impact.
The school garden as an open-air classroom
In this school garden, compost becomes far more than a natural fertilizer. It turns into a powerful educational tool—a living classroom.
Cultivating patience and responsibility
By observing natural cycles, waiting, and caring for the garden, children develop responsibility and long-term thinking.
Understanding the intelligence of the living world
The garden helps students connect their actions to visible outcomes and understand the relationships between soil, plants, and people.
They grow vegetables—but above all, they grow awareness.
Educating today’s children, shaping tomorrow’s changemakers
This initiative fully reflects Youth Conservation’s approach: educating by and for nature, empowering young people to act, understand, and envision the future.
Educating a child today means preparing a responsible adult tomorrow—
a grounded citizen, able to produce without destroying.
Honoring volunteer tutors and local action
Because the future, like the soil, must be cultivated now, we warmly thank our volunteer tutors, who transform concrete action into seeds of hope on the ground.
In Gampela and beyond, these local initiatives remind us that environmental change begins with simple actions, led by committed people, and experienced by young people as active learners.
If you want to know more about this initiative, you can please contact directly our benevolent mentor in Burkina Faso, Oussena KABRE Moussa, using Facebook and/or his email : oussenakabremoussa@gmail.com.
