Introduction

The Hummingbird Green Cup is a partnership project between the three organisations, The Millennial Environmentalists, Sports for Greener Environment and The Football Foundation for Africa, supported by Project Management Institute (PMI) Kenya Chapter. It is a platform created to create environmentalists and hummingbirds from our sports community. The project results from the hummingbird award project, which focuses on sharing traditional knowledge used by different people in conservation. It also exposes the excellent work of environmental organisations and individual environmentalists to other stakeholders who work in the same line. The hummingbird awards are incomplete without implementing several environmental projects set annually. The Hummingbird Green Cup project is one of the answers to the tasks that need to be done.

Background of Hummingbird Awards

The story of the Hummingbird is about this huge forest being consumed by fire. All the animals in the forest come out and are transfixed as they watch the forest burning and feel overwhelmed and powerless, except this little Hummingbird. It says, ‘I’m going to do something about the fire!’ So, it flies to the nearest stream and takes a drop of water. It puts it on the fire and goes up and down, up and down, up and down, as fast as it can. In the meantime, all the other animals, much bigger animals like the elephant with a big trunk that could bring much more water, are standing there helpless. They ask the Hummingbird, ‘What do you think you can do? You are too little. This fire is too big. Your wings are too little, and your beak is so small that you can only bring a small drop of water at a time.’ But as they continue to discourage it, it turns to them without wasting any time, and it tells them, ‘I am doing the best I can.’

And that, to me, is what all of us should do. We should always be like a hummingbird. I may be insignificant, but I don’t want to be like the animals watching the planet go down the drain. I will be a hummingbird; I will do the best I can (Wangari Maathai)

Problem Statement

Many stories of brave environmentalists’ journeys are lost with time since they cannot reach the available masses. Extemporary ideas and traditional knowledge that have been tried and tested to adapt to climate change are unheard of due to the lack of such friendly platforms. Many environmentalists feel they are doing too little to be recognised and sometimes give up. We have several people working towards conserving and greening the environment, though sometimes these people are minority groups and tend to lose hope along the way, considering the workload. Collective action towards curbing climate change is lacking mainly at the grassroots. Therefore, this project tends to recognise and unite such voices, bringing together all the efforts geared towards the environment (relating to conservation, securing our future, and focusing on sustainable goals).

Justification

This answers the late Prof. Wangari Maathai, who summoned all of us to be hummingbirds. It is an answer to the calls of the grassroots organisation to get support for the little they are doing towards the environment. It is a platform for environmentalists to share their stories as well as share hope of conservation towards our planet. It helps create a network that will help see collective action taken in massive conservation activities.

The awards will focus on environmental activities that include but are not limited to:

Water conservation
Waste management
Community education and Sensitisation
Tree growing/ forest restoration
Creative arts, Sports, songs, poems, art etc.

Spreading the Spirit

The hummingbird award competition wishes to extend its territories to the sectors. One of the sectors the spirit has been shared with for fundraising is the Sports Sector, especially during the FIFA World Cup 2022. During the global showcase, TME was inspired to initiate a campaign dubbed Hummingbird na World Cup, in which they would donate ten trees for every world cup goal. TME pledged 100 trees for every goal scored for the semi-finals and finals. With this formula, TME has 3,300 trees to be planted to celebrate sports in the world.

The plan is to donate the trees in sports spaces nationwide, including schools. With the World Cup hangover subsiding, TME teamed up with Sports for Greener Environment and The Football Foundation for Africa to create The Hummingbird Green Cup. The initiative will perpetuate the programme culminating in an annual football tournament around World Environment Day to amplify the environmental conservation message and attract more stakeholders.

The Humming Green Cup will engage grassroots sports communities in tree-planting exercises annually. These will include indigenous trees that are good for carbon sequestration, fruit trees to provide fruits for the community and exotic trees that are fast-growing and can be used for their aesthetic value. Participating sports communities will then be invited to the annual tournament.

Partnership and Collaboration

The participating organisations are champions of SDG 17, Partnerships for the Goals, and we are open to engaging relevant partners to kickstart and scale the project. Contact events@footballfoundation.africa or use the contact details on the poster below.

We are looking for logistics support and regular project monitoring to ensure success in growing trees and not just planting mantra but growing and spreading the project to other areas in the country and the whole of Africa.

Official Poster of the Hummingbird Green Cup 2023

About our Partners

The Millennial Environmentalists

The Millennial Environmentalist is a platform for the youth to actualise their ideas on how best to conserve the environment. It was started with the main aim of planting trees to help curb climate change’s devastating effects and conserve biological resources. It is also geared to sustainable use of the environment through creating awareness, recycling waste, and educating the public on the importance of a healthy environment.

Sports for a Greener Environment

Sports for Greener Environment is an organisation that was mainly established in 2018 for the purpose of taking care of the environment and making it better, safer and greener for sporting activities. All this is achieved through the use of sporting activities and sports personnel and their influence at the community level. It entails partnering with clubs (teams), sports organisations, fans, environmentalists and other corporates or brands inclined to ensure a greener environment. Sports for a Greener Environment also strives to specifically use the athletes and clubs(teams) in carrying out the initiatives, as these groups go for efficiency and effectively get noticed more.

Project Management Institute Kenya Chapter

The Project Management Institute Kenya was officially chartered in 2012 as a chapter by Global Project Management Institute, Inc. PMI® and separately and legally incorporated as a non-profit corporation under the laws of Kenya Societies Rules of 1968. The Global Project Management Institute, Inc. USA (www.PMI.org) is the world’s leading association for those in the project, program or portfolio management profession. Through global advocacy, collaboration, education and research, Project Management Institute works to prepare more than three million professionals worldwide for the Project Economy in which work, and individuals, are organised around projects.

Be The Engineer

Be The Engineer champions inclusion and diversity in STEM. We believe that STEM is for all, and we advocate for STEM for everyone. We encourage girls and women to join STEM and introduce young children ( both boys and girls ) to STEM principles, coding and robotics.