Across five regions of Burkina Faso — Centre, Centre-Nord, Centre-Sud, Est, and Plateau-Central — the association La Sentinelle de la Nature (SENTINA) has just wrapped up the second phase of the “Agir pour la conservation de la nature” project, supported by IUCN-PAPACO, Play for Nature, and the Audemars-Watkins Foundation. This year’s program featured a recycled-art contest, a young ambassadors’ camp, the creation of ten eco-clubs, an urban safari, and a hands-on nursery initiation. Five activities, five schools, one shared conviction: students themselves must become the drivers of change.
Fada N’Gourma: Over 250 Young Ambassadors for 100 Planned Spots
At Notre-Dame de la Paix private primary school, the “Young Conservation Ambassadors” program was initially designed for 100 students. It ended up mobilizing more than 250, across five classes of CP1, CP2, and CE1, supported by six teachers and three technical facilitators. On the agenda: discovering Burkina Faso’s biodiversity, learning about the threats it faces, and a drawing contest themed around mangoes and trees. Five winners were rewarded at a closing ceremony attended by partner association Nature et Vie, school authorities, and parents — a moment capped by a poem read aloud by one of the young students.
Loumbila: An Urban Safari into Biodiversity
At André Brisset private evangelical secondary school, 100 students took part in an “Urban Safari” at Bangr-Weogo Urban Park, supervised by five teachers. The goal: observe species diversity and understand each species’ role in the ecosystem. Between the menagerie (hippopotamuses, waterbucks, primates, Nile crocodiles…), the classified forest — home to more than 130 bird species — and the trophy museum, students experienced a full immersion across three distinct conservation spaces, turning a school outing into a genuine field lesson.
Ouagadougou: When Waste Becomes Art
At Saint-Viateur school group, SENTINA launched the “Waste-to-Art” contest in front of more than 1,000 students gathered at the morning assembly. Over 100 candidates registered across four categories — slam poetry, public speaking, art object-making, and sketches — supported by the school’s eco-club, trained to manage registrations. The grand finale in May 2026 brought together the best talents from each category before a jury impressed by the diversity of the artworks and the quality of the performances. The event was covered by Faso Green TV, and every finalist went home with a prize.
Korsimoro: Ten Eco-Responsible Clubs Take Root
At Hanhui public primary school, which already had a vegetable garden and a double compost pit from Phase 1, SENTINA structured 10 Eco-Responsible Clubs (C.É.R), bringing together 100 students in groups of ten. Trained on Burkina Faso’s biodiversity and equipped with school supplies, these young ambassadors are now responsible for sustaining the project’s achievements and mobilizing their peers — a school-wide network that anchors the environmental momentum for the long term.
Pô: Every Student Takes Home Their Own “Tree of Life”
At Philadelphie private secondary school, 100 students — out of a broader school-wide impact of 300 — were introduced to nursery techniques and school gardening. After a theoretical session, it was time for hands-on practice: students collected discarded water sachets from the schoolyard to use as plant pots, then sowed Moringa oleifera seeds, nicknamed the “tree of life” for its fast growth and nutritional benefits. The ambition: for every participant to take home their own seedling, so that each family can eventually grow its own Moringa tree.
A Phase 2 That Exceeded Its Targets
Altogether, the five activities directly mobilized more than 1,750 students across five schools and five regions of the country, with the involvement of more than a dozen teachers and facilitators. Thanks to a multi-channel communication strategy — Facebook page, roll-up banners, T-shirts, coverage by Faso Green TV, and relays from IUCN-PAPACO and the NAPA newsletter — the project’s overall reach is estimated at 10,000 people sensitized.
Challenges Overcome on the Ground
Success brought its own challenges. In Fada N’Gourma, the unexpected turnout (250 students instead of the planned 100) required quickly mobilizing six additional teachers. At Saint-Viateur, the surge in contest registrations was managed by decentralizing the process to the school’s eco-club. In Pô, the question of keeping young Moringa seedlings alive during school holidays was addressed upfront through the “one seedling per participant” model, naturally shifting follow-up care to families.
From Phase 1 to Phase 2: From Awareness to Action
Comparing the two phases reveals a clear shift. Where Phase 1 relied on visits and relatively passive awareness-raising, Phase 2 moved students toward concrete action: a creative contest at Saint-Viateur, self-managed clubs at Hanhui, hands-on agroecology at Pô. This step up in ambition came with greater logistical complexity — particularly for multi-stage activities like the “Waste-to-Art” contest — but also with stronger media visibility and partnerships.
A Before and After for Partner Schools
SENTINA’s report draws a clear picture: waste, once seen as litter, is now viewed as a resource to be turned into art or plant pots. Environmental education, long confined to theory, now takes shape through self-run clubs and immersive field trips. The schools themselves have been transformed, moving from bare spaces to sites with active vegetable gardens and nurseries — while SENTINA has established itself as a go-to actor capable of leading a multi-regional program alongside IUCN-PAPACO.
What’s Next?
Building on this momentum, SENTINA is already preparing a Phase 3 scale-up toward new schools in the same regions, the transformation of clubs into interconnected regional networks, the gradual transfer of skills to local teaching teams, and the development of partnerships with Burkina Faso’s private sector to diversify funding sources.
This second phase reaffirms a conviction shared by SENTINA and Youth Conservation: when children are given the tools and the confidence to act, they become nature conservation’s best ambassadors.
Want to follow the next steps of the “Agir” project and discover the other partner NGOs? Visit youth-conservation.org to learn more.
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