By Charles Bakolo

On 4 April 2026, the Climate YES Malawi Hub marked a defining milestone in its environmental stewardship journey with the official launch of a 50+ fruit tree orchard at DMI-St. John the Baptist University in Lilongwe, Malawi. Bringing together 49 participants — 24 men, 25 women, and a person with disability, from six Christian denominations, the event transformed a university campus into a living symbol of youth- led climate action.

The orchard features a carefully selected mix of species suited to Lilongwe’s climate: premium grafted mango varieties including Kent, Tommy Atkins, Sabre, and Sensation, alongside guava, papaya, avocado, and citrus trees. Grafted mango varieties were prioritised because they produce their first harvest within three years, ensuring visible and measurable results by 2028–29. Every tree was labelled with its species name, planting date, and the name of its student caretaker, and baseline GPS coordinates and photographs were recorded for each one.

At the heart of the initiative is the Student Orchard Committee, a newly formed student-led body that will take responsibility for the weekly watering schedule, monthly health inspections, and ongoing monitoring of every tree. The committee received training in practical environmental stewardship, agricultural monitoring, and climate advocacy, equipping them with skills that extend well beyond the orchard itself.

The launch was not just a planting ceremony; it was a statement. By creating a rigorous, multi-year documentation system that tracks each tree individually through annual photographs, height measurements, canopy spread, and fruit yield data, Climate YES Malawi is building a credible, replicable evidence base that can be shared with policymakers, national environmental bodies, and other institutions across the country.

The orchard is designed to serve as a national demonstration site by Year 3, welcoming visitors from schools, faith communities, and environmental organisations across Lilongwe and beyond. Beyond environmental impact, the orchard directly addresses food security. Fresh fruit will supplement the university canteen, and surplus harvests from Year 3 onwards will be sold locally, generating income that is reinvested into orchard expansion and maintenance. This self-sustaining model ensures the project outlives any single funding cycle.

Key takeaways from the launch include the power of combining faith, education, and practical action in a single initiative; the importance of institutionalising youth environmental leadership through structures like the Student Orchard Committee; and the potential of university-based orchard projects as a replicable model for climate action across Malawi and the wider Climate YES network. The Climate YES Malawi Hub is now pursuing formal partnerships with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Malawi Environment Management Authority to position DMI-St. John the Baptist University as a national demonstration site, while also exploring funding to expand the orchard to 100+ trees by Year 4.