They study next to one of the largest garbage dumps in Africa. They plant bamboos to deal with it

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Armed with garden hoes while others held bamboo seedlings, students gathered outside their school in Kenya’s capital. They hoped that the fully grown bamboo would help filter dirty air from one of Africa’s largest landfills.

More than 100 bamboo plantings grow around Dandora High School, which shares its name with a landfill that was declared full 23 years ago. Hundreds of trucks pass by each day, taking away more garbage.

Allan Sila, 17, said sitting in his classroom was like studying in a stinking latrine.

Every morning, acrid smoke from burning garbage fills the air, obstructing visibility and causing respiration problems for some students.

“Asthma is a common disease,” Sila said.

The school’s principal, Eutychus Maina, remembers that when he was sent to school last 12 months, he was greeted by stench and smoke. He knew he had to do something.

“My motivation for initiating the bamboo project at school was to alleviate the effects of landfill. It really pollutes the air we breathe,” he said.

He said he searched online and got here across the use of bamboo. He believes this can help reduce the number of cases of respiratory infections in society.

The United Nations and other organizations promote fast-growing bamboo because of its high carbon sequestration.

Aderiana Mbandi is an air quality research and policy expert at the United Nations Environment Programme, based in Nairobi. She said the effects of air pollution are felt in all parts of the body, including the brain, and the best way to reduce its effects is to minimize exposure.

The seedlings, which the students began planting in August last 12 months, are already three meters high. The giant bamboo variety is predicted to reach 40 feet when mature, depending on soil conditions.

Students hope that the bamboo will help transform the school grounds right into a green haven in the litter-ridden Dandora district.

The publicly funded school relies on donations to purchase the seedlings, which retail for 400 Kenyan shillings ($3) each.

However, the school management is decided to proceed the work until bamboo lines the 900-meter wall separating the school from the landfill.

The Dandora landfill occupies about 50 hectares (123 acres) of land and receives greater than 2,000 tons of waste day by day from around Nairobi, home to 4 million people.

Its stench might be smelled for kilometers (miles).

UNEP, in cooperation with the Stockholm Environment Institute, deployed sensors in the Dandora district from October to April to monitor pollution levels from the landfill.

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Of the 166 days monitored, only 12 days had average daytime air quality that was excellent, in line with World Health Organization guidelines.

Nairobi’s air can be polluted by emissions from used cars, which make up much of the city’s transport. Other pollutants include smoke produced by industries often positioned near residential areas.

Dandora School also plants trees, including jacaranda and grevillea.

Student Josiah Nyamwata called them easy to obtain and simple to plant. “Another advantage is that the trees will help improve air circulation around our school,” he said.

Air is just not the school’s only challenge. Dump vultures are a nuisance at mealtimes. Students protect their plates from theft.