Nairobi Pupils Participate in Estate Clean-Up Through CBC Projects

In Nairobi’s low-income estates, schoolchildren have joined hands to clean up their neighbourhoods as part of environmental lessons under Kenya’s Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). Pupils in Baba Dogo and other informal settlements participated in weekend clean-up exercises, collecting trash, trimming overgrown hedges, and restoring common spaces. The effort reflects how the new curriculum seeks to nurture eco-warriors from a young age.
The clean-up initiative ties directly into CBC’s environmental learning components, which encourage learners to apply citizenship and problem-solving skills in real-life community service. According to the curriculum’s design documents, activities like environmental audit and community service learning are embedded into classroom themes to reinforce responsibility and care for the local environment. Students work in teams, discuss waste management, and reflect on how their actions contribute to a cleaner, healthier estate.
Community leaders and parents say the initiative has generated positive ripple effects. Beyond picking up litter, the pupils are helping to shift attitudes about shared responsibility and environmental stewardship. One teacher noted that the students’ clean-up efforts are not just symbolic — they are practical demonstrations of CBC competencies such as citizenship and collaboration. Local green organisations have praised the students, calling them agents of change who are restoring green spaces and making their neighbourhoods safer and more attractive.
Looking ahead, education stakeholders hope to scale up these CBC-driven environmental projects across more Nairobi estates. As the county expands its clean-up campaigns, pupils could play an increasingly central role—helping lead Green Army squads, planting native trees, and conducting community-based audits. If successful, the model could serve as a powerful example of how CBC can build socially responsible learners who go beyond the classroom to make a real impact.