From Mu’awiya Bala Idris, Katsina
The Katsina State Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Project has donated a range of survey and environmental monitoring equipment to the Department of Geography, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University (UMYU), Katsina.
The donation is aimed at strengthening academic institutions, promoting research and practical training, and supporting sustainable environmental management.
Presenting the items, the ACReSAL Project Coordinator, Alhaji Nafiu Mohammed Musa, represented by the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Aminu Ahmed, said the gesture was designed to enhance the capacity of academic institutions to provide quality research and training in environmental management and sustainable development.
He explained that the donation was intended not only to enrich students’ academic experience but also to equip the Department of Geography with the tools needed to develop practical solutions to pressing environmental challenges in Katsina State and beyond.
According to him, Katsina ACReSAL remains committed to supporting relevant institutions and partnerships that contribute to environmental sustainability, climate resilience and improved resource management.
Mohammed urged the university and the Department of Geography to use the donated equipment judiciously and ensure that the items serve their intended purpose of advancing teaching, learning, research and practical fieldwork.
The items donated include 25 helmets, 20 safety goggles, 20 pairs of hand gloves, 100 reflective jackets, 20 umbrellas, two safety kits, two handheld GPS devices, one digital air-quality monitor, one multiparameter water-quality meter, one soil-monitoring meter and 10 survey measuring tapes.
Receiving the equipment on behalf of the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Shehu Salihu Mohammed, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic, Prof. Yusuf Elladan, expressed appreciation to Katsina ACReSAL for the intervention.
Prof. Elladan noted that the donation would strengthen teaching, learning, research and practical training in the Department of Geography, particularly in areas such as land-use planning, resource mapping, environmental management and climate resilience studies.
He added that the equipment would support research activities and other institutional academic-strengthening programmes while providing students with practical exposure to modern tools used in environmental and geographical studies.
In his remarks, the Dean, Faculty of Geography and Environmental Management, Prof. Lawal Abdurrashid, highlighted the importance of the intervention, describing it as a valuable contribution to the development of academic and research capacity within the faculty.
Similarly, the Head of the Department of Geography, Prof. Amina Ibrahim, noted that the donated equipment came at an important time, stressing that it would benefit both academic staff and students by improving practical learning and field-based research.