A Place to Play

Growing up, Amara Nwuneli longed to be outside. She daydreamed about playing tag with her friends, riding bikes, or even just taking a walk in a park.

But instead Amara spent nearly every day after school cooped up indoors. Why? The teen is from Lagos (LAY-gahss), Nigeria, a megacity and one of the most densely populated places in Africa. A megacity is a city with more than 10 million residents.

Lagos is about the same size as Los Angeles, California, but has more than four times as many people. An estimated 17 million residents are jammed into Lagos. That leaves little room for parks and other outdoor areas for kids to play.

Growing up, Amara Nwuneli longed to be outside. She daydreamed about playing tag with her friends and riding bikes. She even just wanted to take a walk in a park.

But instead Amara spent nearly every day after school cooped up indoors. Why? The teen is from Lagos (LAY-gahss), Nigeria. That is a megacity and one of the most densely populated places in Africa. A megacity is a city with more than 10 million residents.

Lagos is about the same size as Los Angeles, California. But it has more than four times as many people. An estimated 17 million residents are jammed into Lagos. That leaves little room for parks and other outdoor areas for kids to play. 

Amara was convinced that children living in those slums—and all young people in the city—needed a park. She approached city officials with her idea, armed with a list of ways in which the residents of Lagos would benefit. 

Parks give people a way to enjoy the outdoors and learn about the environment, Amara says. They also improve people’s moods and create a sense of community, she adds. Plus, research shows that children who live near parks are more likely to get daily exercise. 

The local government offered Amara a location to use. But officials wouldn’t let her build anything permanent on the land, in case they needed it back. So Amara looked for other options. Eventually, an organization in Lagos that works with disadvantaged children agreed to provide land. The space is near a busy outdoor market in the Ikota neighborhood.

That property, however, came with a catch. The site was in a muddy, flood-prone area. And it was being used as a garbage dump.

Amara was convinced that children living in those slums needed a park. And all young people in the city needed it. She approached city officials with her idea. She was armed with a list of ways in which the residents of Lagos would benefit. 

Parks give people a way to enjoy the outdoors and learn about the environment, Amara says. They also improve people’s moods. They create a sense of community, she adds. Plus, research shows that children who live near parks are more likely to get daily exercise. 

The local government offered Amara a location to use. But officials would not let her build anything permanent on the land, in case they needed it back. So Amara looked for other options. Eventually, an organization in Lagos that works with disadvantaged children agreed to provide land. The space is near a busy outdoor market in the Ikota neighborhood.

But that property came with a catch. The site was in a muddy, flood-prone area. And it was being used as a garbage dump.

Amara was not discouraged—far from it, in fact. She decided to repurpose as many materials from the dump as she could to create the playground equipment.

With a team of volunteers and local artisans ready to help, Amara got to work. Together the group hauled out piles and piles of rotten food and garbage to clear the space. Then they reused what they could. Old tires were made into swings, and heaps of wood were sanded down and hammered into benches. 

Next, painters decorated the space with colorful murals of blue skies and rainbows. And Amara and other members of Preserve Our Roots planted 300 trees along the park’s border. Trees provide shade and help absorb rainwater to reduce flooding.

The G.R.E.E.N. Sustainability Park opened in March 2025. (The acronym stands for Growth, Recycle, Educate, Empower, and Nature.) Every day, boys and girls race through the gates for the swings, the bright-yellow slide, and the multicolored climbing wall. They also gather in the park for volunteer-led classes on ways to protect the environment.

Amara was not discouraged. Far from it, in fact. She decided to repurpose as many materials from the dump as she could to create the playground equipment.

Amara got to work. She had a team of volunteers and local artisans ready to help. Together the group cleared the space. They hauled out piles and piles of rotten food and garbage. Then they reused what they could. Old tires were made into swings. Heaps of wood were sanded down and hammered into benches. 

Next, painters decorated the space with colorful murals of blue skies and rainbows. And Amara and other members of Preserve Our Roots planted 300 trees along the park’s border. Trees provide shade. And they help absorb rainwater to reduce flooding.

The G.R.E.E.N. Sustainability Park opened in March 2025. (The acronym stands for Growth, Recycle, Educate, Empower, and Nature.) Every day, boys and girls race through the gates for the swings and the bright-yellow slide. They run to the multicolored climbing wall. They also gather in the park for volunteer-led classes on ways to protect the environment.

The playground is a success, but Amara says her work isn’t finished. She is a student at the University of Chicago in Illinois, where she is studying sustainable development. That is a method of building that doesn’t completely use up or destroy natural resources. Amara plans to use what she learns to continue constructing parks back home.

And she recently received more support to achieve that goal. Amara won $12,500 last year from the Earth Prize. That international competition recognizes teens for their work to improve the environment. 

Being outdoors in nature is something everyone should have the right to experience and enjoy, Amara says. The benefits show on the faces of the children at the park, she adds. One 11-year-old boy who wants to be an artist when he grows up told her that he now has a place where he can sit under the trees and draw. 

“Younger me would have really appreciated having a park like this,” Amara says. “Kids can just be kids here.”

The playground is a success. But Amara says her work is not finished. She is a student at the University of Chicago in Illinois. She is studying sustainable development. That is a method of building that does not completely use up or destroy natural resources. Amara plans to use what she learns to continue constructing parks back home.

And she recently received more support to achieve that goal. Amara won $12,500 last year from the Earth Prize. That is an international competition. It recognizes teens for their work to improve the environment. 

Being outdoors in nature is something everyone should have the right to experience and enjoy, Amara says. The benefits show on the faces of the children at the park, she adds. One 11-year-old boy told her that he now has a place where he can sit under the trees and draw. He wants to be an artist when he grows up.

“Younger me would have really appreciated having a park like this,” Amara says. “Kids can just be kids here.”