Undaunted Spirits: Plogging Club UNN at 2!

  

The world’s greatest exploits, endeavors, achievements are all driven by passion.

Passion is a maddening drive, maddening because it makes one do things considered away from the norm. It is this passion that has birthed ideas of immeasurable success, this same passion that birthed Plogging Nigeria Club UNN. 

When the menace of indiscriminate waste disposal was beyond bearable for a few environmental conscious persons in the University Community, 40+ volunteers gathered at the Faculty of Arts Quadrangle on April 06, 2019 to begin what would grow into a large family of environmental conscious “Ploggas” for the betterment of the critical situation of the University Community. At their first PES (Plogging Episode), although they were worried of their reception in the University community, they stacked 24 bags of wastes from an amazing distance covered.

After several successful Plogging Episodes, the club organized its first Campus Clean Up on the 8th of February 2020, where over 500 persons, students and university staff, showed up to plog off 700+ bags of waste, and PET bottles included, from the University environment. The success of the clean-up was due, largely, to the energy and zeal of the Ploggas and the commendable interest of the University’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Charles Igwe, in environmental sanitation. It collaborated with well-meaning organizations like The Rotary Club and the University Community. On the 14th of March 2020, the growing club organized its first “Green Hangout”, where staff members and students were enlightened on the importance of being environmentally conscious. It was a gathering of UNN policy makers, staff members, students and guests from other institutions.

The club was honored with a courtesy call with the VC of the University, shortly after the Hangout. Professor Charles Igwe, acknowledged the exceptional work the club was doing in the University premises and pledged his continual support. While the world was on a temporary halt for months in 2020, the club continued to plog, at least 5 times. Members of the club present in the campus, during the lockdown, observed the International World Environment Day on June 5, 2020 and planted over 20 trees, which are blooming by the way. It observed the World Clean Up Day in collaboration with Rotaract Club UNN, plogged outside the University Campus, Nsukka Government Field, GRA on September 19, 2020. The achievements continued as school activities resumed. To mark the season of love, the club had a “Love-Plog” on the 13th of February 2021, where members tropped out to show love, the Plogging way, to the environment.

2 years after its birth, Plogging Club, UNN has organized 22 PES and counting. Members have tripled to over 120 UNN Ploggas and total bags of waste collected so far, PET bottles included, amount up to over 700 bags. The club continues to collaborate with SDG oriented organizations around its environs. It recognized the importance of each gender on the International Women’s Day 2021 when it jointly plogged with Equity Watch on 8th of March, 2021. Its pivotal to note that the huge responsibility to sensitize the University Community on the need to be environmentally conscious and finally dissuade the public from indiscriminate waste disposal is still a major goal that the club continues to strive to achieve. The undaunted spirit of members of Plogging Club, UNN continues to be the driving force of the club. The club actively partakes and advocates for participants for the bi-monthly 7-day online Green Switch Academy where “Greenies” are trained to be environmentally conscious.






Check out more pictures here.
 
Author: Merit C. Nwachukwu
(Plogging Nigeria, Club, UNN). 

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