Creating Community Based Environmental Awareness with Social Media: A Kenyan perspective

Abstract

One of the roles of community education is keeping citizens more informed on the need to conserve their environment. However, for this to be effective in the digital era, the use of modern communication tools is required to keep pace with current technological developments. One of these tools is social media, which is enormously popular and is used by both individuals and organisations for online communication. This paper analyses the role of social media in community-based organisations (CBOs) in creating environmental awareness through community education in Kenya. A non-probability sample comprising nine CBOs in Nakuru City was used to explore activities focused on environmental issues. Data were collected and analysed from a total of 98 respondents who participated in an online survey. It was concluded that the use of social media for environmental awareness in CBOs was minimal, but there is potential in its use as a social learning environment for creating environmental awareness. The study recommends capacity building and open online communication as a means of promoting the use of social media in creating environmental awareness through community education programmes.

Keywords: environmental management, environmental awareness, community based organisation (CBO), community education, social media