Young Nigerian Wins $100,000 for Turning Waste into Playgrounds, Inspiring a Greener Future

At just 17 years old, Amara Nwuneli, a Nigerian teenager, is showing the world how innovation and passion can make a real difference. Her story is one of hope, creativity, and youth empowerment, a perfect example of how the next generation is taking bold steps to address Nigeria’s growing environmental challenges.

Amara recently made headlines after winning the 2025 Earth Prize, an international environmental award, for building a children’s playground entirely from recycled materials in Lagos. What began as a school project quickly grew into a powerful mission: to turn waste into something beautiful, useful, and lasting for local communities.

Her idea was simple but brilliant, use discarded tires, plastics, and other waste items to create safe, colorful play areas for children in underprivileged neighborhoods. In a country where waste management remains a huge issue and many children lack safe recreational spaces, Amara’s solution strikes at two major problems at once: environmental pollution and limited access to play areas.

The first playground, built in the heart of a densely populated area in Lagos, was completed in early 2025. Using over 200 used tires and various upcycled materials, Amara and her team constructed swings, climbing frames, benches, and garden beds. The reaction from the community was immediate, children flocked to the site daily, and parents expressed deep gratitude for the transformation.

But Amara isn’t stopping there. With the $100,000 prize money from the Earth Prize, she plans to expand the project to other parts of Nigeria, including regions in the South East. Her goal is to build 10 more eco-playgrounds by the end of 2026, especially in places like Imo State, where open spaces are being lost to urban development and waste management remains a growing concern.

This project sends a strong message: young people are not just leaders of tomorrow, they’re already making changes today. By turning everyday waste into something meaningful, Amara’s initiative shows what’s possible when creativity meets purpose. It also reflects a deeper shift happening in Nigeria, where youth are increasingly stepping into roles as problem-solvers, activists, and changemakers.

Her story is also a call to action for communities, governments, and organizations to support such efforts. With better awareness, partnerships, and funding, initiatives like these can be replicated in schools, parks, and public spaces all across the country.

As Nigeria faces rising urban waste and environmental degradation, the future depends on sustainable, community-led solutions. Amara’s eco-playgrounds remind us that solutions don’t always require big budgets or complex systems, sometimes, all it takes is a bold idea, a few discarded tires, and the determination to make things better.