Lthy air from trash dump
hope that the bamboo will help transform the school compound into a green haven in the litter-strewn Dandora neighbourhood.
The publicly funded school relies on donations to aord the seedlings that is sold in retail at 400 Kenyan shillings each.
But the school management is determined to keep going until bamboo lines the 900-metre wall that separates the school and the dumpsite.
The Dandora dump occupies about 123 acres of land and receives more than 2,000 tonne of waste daily from around Nairobi, home to 4 million people.
Its stench can be smelled kilometres away.
UNEP, in partnership with the Stockholm Environment Institute, deployed sensors to the Dandora neighbourhood from October to April to monitor pollution levels from the dumpsite.
Out of the 166 days monitored, only 12 had a daily average of excellent air quality according to World Health Organization guidelines.
Other pollutants
Nairobi’s air is also polluted by emissions from secondhand cars that make up much of the city’s transport. Other pollutants inStudents clude smoke from industries that are often located near residential areas.
The Dandora school is also planting trees including jacaranda and grevillea. Student Josiah Nyamwata called them easy to obtain and easy to plant. “The other advantage is that the trees will be helpful in order to boost our air circulation around our school,” he said.
The air is not the only challenge faced by the school. Vultures from the dumpsite circling in search of food often create a nuisance to the students at mealtimes forcing them to guard their plates from being snatched.