2025 Year In Review

2025 has been a defining year for En Aawa Trees Foundation. It has been marked by growth, learning, and deepening trust with the communities and partners we serve. Across Adamawa State and beyond, we strengthened our core pillars of afforestation, education, advocacy, and community engagement, while laying the groundwork for more ambitious and scalable interventions in the years ahead.

While we did not reach all the numerical targets we initially set, the year delivered something just as valuable: momentum, stronger partnerships, and clearer insight into how to scale responsibly and sustainably. We close the year encouraged, grateful, and more focused than ever.

Planting with Purpose

Tree planting remains at the heart of our mission. In 2025, we planted a total of 3,395 trees across four regions in Adamawa State, contributing to land restoration, microclimate improvement, and community stewardship.

Additionally, in January, we partnered with Albir Organization in Moussoro, Chad, to celebrate the opening of a newly built orphanage. We planted 15 symbolic trees, one for each child in the first cohort of orphans.

With these efforts, our cumulative total now stands at 5,613 trees planted since inception.

While this is short of our original 10,000-tree milestone, it has prompted an important strategic shift: prioritising survival, maintenance, and long-term impact over raw numbers.

Going forward, tree survival rates and community ownership will guide our planting strategy.

Education and Awareness

Education has always been central to our vision, and 2025 marked a major milestone with the launch of our Education and Awareness Programme.

On 22 February 2025, we hosted our inaugural Climate Sensitization Event in collaboration with the American University of Nigeria (AUN). The event attracted hundreds of participants, including students, academics, community members, and civil society actors. Activities included keynote talks, lectures, interactive workshops, and ceremonial tree planting on campus.

We were proud to collaborate with: Global Shapers Yola Hub, Sarauniya Foundation, alongside Student clubs and volunteer groups from AUN. This event marked the beginning of our education journey.

We are currently working with AUN and international partners to establish a permanent climate education and engagement space, designed to serve as a hub for learning, dialogue, and action on desertification and sustainability in the Sahel region.

Advocacy

Our work and story opened doors to regional and international platforms, allowing us to contribute grassroots perspectives to global climate conversations. We are deeply grateful to all hosts and organisers for trusting us with their platforms.

In April, we joined the Centre for Women and Adolescent Empowerment for World Earth

Day, reinforcing the intersection of environmental protection and social empowerment.

In May, we participated in a panel at Downtown Design Riyadh, hosted by RIBA. The discussion was on climate resilience challenges in large-scale development.

In October, Abubakar appeared on the Artifact Podcast (AlUla FM), exploring how design, innovation, and community-driven action can combat desertification.

Community Engagement

Community engagement remained a defining strength of our work in 2025.

A key highlight was a strategic visit to His Royal Highness, the Emir of Fufore, Alhaji Sani Ahmadu Ribadu, an accomplished agronomist and horticulturist. His openness and support granted us access to vital grassroots networks, significantly strengthening our capacity to operate effectively at the community level.

The year concluded with a milestone initiative: our inaugural #Sport4Land event.

We hosted a friendly football match between Yola North and Yola South, drawing hundreds of spectators. Beyond entertainment, the match served as a platform for environmental education, with short talks integrated into halftime to highlight the importance of protecting the green valley between the two communities and combating desertification more broadly.

The event demonstrated the power of sport to unite, inspire, and mobilise action.

Looking Ahead to 2026

2025 has been a year of consolidation and clarity. As we move forward, we remain cautiously optimistic and committed to scaling responsibly. In the coming year, we aim to

• Strengthen and expand our tree planting and maintenance programmes

• Establish a permanent climate education space with our partners

• Grow the Sport4Land initiative into a multi-sport, multi-day community platform

• Deepen partnerships locally and internationally

We remain profoundly grateful to our supporters, collaborators, and, most importantly, the communities who continue to welcome, challenge, and inspire us. Step by step, we will continue, no matter how long it takes.