Assessment of Community Awareness and Participation Towards Environmental Education in Gombe Metropolis Gombe State, Nigeria

This study attempts to assess community awareness and participation in environmental educationin Gombe Metropolis, Gombe State Nigeria. The study used both primary and secondary sourcesof data. The primary data was generated from structured questionnaires administered andinterviews while the secondary data was collected from published materials. The study area hadprojected population as about 391,869 people as at 2019. In view of that, stratified and clustersampling techniques were employed to draw 250 respondents from the total population aroundthe six major wards (Bolari, Pantami, Kumbiya-kumbiya, Jekadafari, Tudun- wada andHerwagana) in the study area. The findings of the study however, revealed that the level ofenvironmental education and awareness among the people of the study area was moderate. Thestudy further indicated that the people in study area exhibited some level of positiveenvironmental attitudes such as use of dust-bin, waste disposal points, cleaning of culverts anddrainages, etc. The study concluded that the overall people of the study area were aware of theenvironmental problems that exist in Gombe metropolis, but could not act positively. However,he major environmental problems highlighted by the respondents among others were, soilerosion, flooding, poor sanitation conditions deforestation, etc. The study finally recommendedthat efforts should be made by the government, NGOs and all other relevant stakeholders such ascommunity/environmental health workers, community leaders, clerics, environmental marshals,etc in educating and enlightening communities about roles expected of them to play towardsenvironmental awareness, protection, maintenance and conservation.