Amara Nwuneli is a climate and social activist, filmmaker, author, and the founder of Preserve Our Roots, a youth-led nonprofit committed to empowering young people to take climate action through education, storytelling, and community transformation.
Nwuneli is only seventeen, yet she is tired of watching Lagos flood every rainy season.
In the summer of 2020, the flood came to her home in Lagos, Nigeria, and her family had to pack up everything they owned in ankle-deep water. She was only twelve then, but understood this was not normal. If the grown-ups won’t fix it, maybe the kids should start trying.
Amara watered that seed, and it was the seed that eventually birthed Preserve Our Roots.
From waste to community hubs
Preserve Our Roots is a youth-led NGO focused on climate action and urban sustainability in Nigeria. The NGO transforms underserved urban areas, especially in Lagos, into green sustainability parks that serve as community hubs for environmental education, climate resilience, and recreation. These parks are built using recycled materials and feature playgrounds, greenhouses, and flood-resistant trees, turning trash-filled spaces into safe, green environments for learning and social interaction.
The first park in Ikota, Lagos, was once a dumpsite littered with discarded tires, broken wood, and metal scraps. With volunteer support, Nwuneli’s team repurposed that space into a functional, eco-friendly playground and garden with flood-resistant trees and educational signage. The park is now a classroom where children and community members learn about waste management, sustainability, and climate resilience.
Multiplatform advocacy
The climate actor’s approach to climate action goes beyond green infrastructure. She is also a skilled storyteller. Her award-winning climate documentaries, including The Heat of Change and Recycle Points, have received international recognition for highlighting the environmental challenges faced by Nigerian communities.
In addition to film, she leads workshops, bootcamps, and youth leadership programs. One of her key initiatives, Roots to Revolution, equips Nigerian teenagers with the tools to engage in civic responsibility, sustainable development, and social change. All this is rooted in environmental awareness and community values.
Through these programs, Preserve Our Roots connects environmental advocacy with nation-building, encouraging young people to see themselves as future leaders and present-day changemakers.
Recognition and expansion
Amara Nwuneli has earned several prestigious awards, including the Earth Prize Africa 2025, Canon Young Champion of the Year, and Ashoka Young Changemaker designation. She has spoken on climate justice and youth inclusion at global venues such as COP28, the White House, and The New York Times’ Climate Forward event. These accolades have helped her scale her impact.
Last month, Nwuneli won a $12,500 Earth Prize Africa Award grant for her project, Preserve Our Roots. The Earth Prize, first launched in September 2021, is an annual environmental sustainability prize for secondary education students awarded by The Earth Foundation.
“I’m incredibly grateful to The Earth Prize for this recognition, which is a huge boost to our mission of redefining urban sustainability through Green Sustainability Parks. These eco-parks serve as living classrooms and blueprints for resilient cities. With this funding, we will establish three more parks in underserved Nigerian communities, bringing climate education, green spaces, and sustainable infrastructure to tens of thousands,” Amara Nwuneli told The Earth Foundation..
Nwuneli is the first African to win this prestigious award. With the recent grant, her long-term vision is to replicate the green sustainability park model across underserved Nigerian communities, thus expanding access to environmental education and green infrastructure.
