Why This Quest Matters
The Great Baobab Quest is more than a competition. It is a structured citizen science programme designed to generate real ecological data, raise public awareness, and mobilise communities across Northwest Nigeria around one of Africa's most ecologically significant and culturally important trees — the African Baobab, Adansonia digitata.
The Ecological Power of the Baobab
Carbon Sequestration
A single mature Baobab can store up to 100,000 litres of water within its trunk and sequester significant quantities of CO₂ across a lifespan that can exceed 1,000 years. These trees function as living carbon reservoirs, making them among Africa's most important natural buffers against climate change.
Water Retention
Baobab root systems stabilise soil structure and help retain groundwater in semi-arid landscapes, reducing surface runoff and slowing desertification. In the Sahel fringe of Northwest Nigeria, where water scarcity is intensifying, these trees play a critical role in maintaining the hydrological balance of rural landscapes.
Biodiversity Hub
The Baobab is a keystone species in savanna ecosystems, supporting a wide range of insects, birds, and mammals. Its flowers are pollinated by bats and large insects; its fruit feeds primates, elephants, and humans alike; and its hollow trunk provides nesting sites for numerous bird species, making it an irreplaceable node in the ecological network.
Food & Livelihood Security
Baobab fruit pulp is exceptionally rich in vitamin C, calcium, and antioxidants, and has been used as a food source and traditional medicine across West Africa for centuries. The leaves are consumed as a vegetable, the seeds yield oil, and the bark provides fibre. For rural families in Northwest Nigeria, the Baobab is not merely a tree — it is a living pharmacy, a food store, and a source of supplementary income.
Powered by Citizen Science
Citizen science is the practice of engaging the public as active participants in scientific research. By inviting communities across Northwest Nigeria to locate, measure, and document Baobab trees, The Great Baobab Quest generates a verified, georeferenced dataset of Baobab populations — data that would otherwise require years of costly professional field surveys to collect.
Every entry submitted through this platform contributes to a growing ecological record. Measurements of Circumference at Breast Height (CBH), tree height, crown spread, and health status — combined with GPS coordinates and photographs — form a scientific inventory that researchers, conservationists, and policymakers can use to monitor Baobab population health, distribution, and change over time.
Participants are not merely competitors. They are field scientists, applying standardised measurement protocols and directly contributing to Nigeria's ecological knowledge base and conservation heritage.
Why Northwest Nigeria?
The seven states of Northwest Nigeria — Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto, and Zamfara — sit at the southern fringe of the Sahel, a region experiencing accelerating desertification, erratic rainfall, and severe land degradation. The African Baobab is one of the few tree species with the physiological resilience to survive and even thrive under these increasingly arid conditions, making it a natural ally in the fight against environmental collapse.
Despite their ecological and cultural importance, Northwest Nigeria's Baobab populations remain poorly documented. Rapid agricultural expansion, charcoal production, urban encroachment, and the compounding effects of climate change are placing these ancient trees under mounting pressure. Without a baseline inventory, conservation efforts cannot be effectively targeted, funded, or evaluated.
The Baobab also holds profound cultural significance across the Northwest — as a community gathering point, a source of traditional medicine, a marker of ancestral land boundaries, and a living landmark connecting generations. Documenting these trees is therefore an act of preserving both ecological integrity and intangible cultural heritage.
A Two-Phase Programme
The Great Baobab Quest is the first step in a long-term ecological programme by Resilient Earth Nigeria.
Participants locate, measure, and document existing Baobab trees across the seven Northwest states. Standardised measurements of Circumference at Breast Height (CBH), tree height, crown spread, health status, and cultural significance are collected via this platform — creating what will be Nigeria's first citizen-science Baobab inventory.
Building directly on the data and community networks established in Phase 1, the second competition will challenge participants to plant and nurture Baobab seedlings across the Northwest. Entries will be evaluated on seedling survival rate, growth metrics, site suitability, and community engagement — translating citizen science data into tangible ecological restoration action on the ground.
Competition Timeline
Key dates for The Great Baobab Quest 2026
How to Participate
Three steps to compete for the ₦500,000 prize
Find a Baobab
Locate a Baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) within one of the seven states of Northwest Nigeria: Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto, or Zamfara.
Measure & Document
Measure the Circumference at Breast Height (CBH) at exactly 1.3m above ground. Record height, crown spread, GPS coordinates, and assess the tree's health and cultural significance.
Submit Your Entry
Create an account, upload your measurements and three required photographs (full tree, trunk measurement, and participant-scale photo), then submit your entry.