Rugby sevens star Kevin Wekesa: ‘I am not blaming Europeans but I must highlight climate injustices’
The Kenyan player has been recognised for his advocacy and grassroots work to tackle sport’s carbon footprint“Most well-known people who talk about climate change are in North America and Europe,” says Kenyan rugby sevens star Kevin Wekesa, “but for us this is a very relevant conversation,It is not only about future tournaments or big international pledges,In Kenya, we see the effects in rising heat, cracked pitches and changing weather in communities where young athletes are growing up,”A year before competing in his first Olympic Games at Paris 2024, Wekesa responded to Kenya’s relegation from the top tier of international sevens by offering free rugby coaching in schools across Kenya,After travelling to a school in Kirinyaga on the slopes of Mount Kenya, a wet and verdant region, Wekesa found an unplayable dry field and was forced to cancel the session.
One of the students told Wekesa that conditions had been similar for two months, while another suggested the unfamiliar weather was because of climate change.“I thought to myself, if it’s already affecting this level of sport, what about at the highest level?” That same year, he founded Play Green, an organisation that connects sport with climate action.Wekesa went on to win a 2025 IOC Climate Action Award, recognised his success with Play Green, including leading the Kenyan men’s and women’s national sevens teams to use reusable water bottles, saving approximately 1,000 plastic bottles every week.Wekesa hopes to extend his influence beyond Kenya’s national setup and make banning single-use plastic a policy in Kenyan rugby clubs and tournaments.“If I can eliminate plastic directly from all the clubs in Kenya, it can eventually grow organically to other sports in the country.
” In April, Wekesa met Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, to discuss reducing single-use plastic at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in 2027, which Kenya will host alongside Uganda and Tanzania,Play Green also focuses on climate change education in Kenyan schools,“We work with children because they are inheriting the climate crisis, not because they are causing it,” Wekesa says,“Kenyan children have a very small carbon footprint compared to children growing up in high-carbon economies like northern Europe, yet they are often more exposed to the consequences: drought, floods, heat, water shortages, food insecurity, illness and missed school,I am not blaming European children but I must highlight climate injustices.
”Play Green does not only treat children as victims of climate change, but as active participants in protecting their environment.“For me, climate action is practical, visible, and rooted in community, just like rugby.It takes a community to tackle climate action; it is not about pointing fingers.” Wekesa explains that many children in vulnerable communities are aware of climate change, but education empowers them to take small actions that reduce its impacts, such as conserving water.After giving climate change talks and playing rugby with students, Wekesa tasks them with adopting trees planted by Play Green, writing their names on a label along with the year the sapling was planted.
When Wekesa realised that children were sometimes too hungry to play rugby after school, Play Green primarily plants fruit trees — avocado, mango, guava and other indigenous species — to provide nourishment.Wekesa is also piloting a scheme that provides children with wholegrain porridge.The trees planted in each school depend on the climate of each location, which Wekesa learned about after visiting the Kenya Forest Reserve.He acknowledges that there are more effective ways to reduce carbon emissions than planting trees, but in addition to providing nutrition, explains that they give students “a sense of belonging” to their surroundings while providing shade that can be used as outdoor classrooms.“I remember many times doing a literature lesson under a tree when it was too hot to be in a classroom.
”Throughout May, Wekesa is teaching rugby, distributing pre-used rugby balls and planting fruit trees in 10 schools that have expressed interest in joining Play Green.So far, he has held workshops in over 40 Kenyan schools and planted over 6,200 trees.Some students who participated in the first workshops have even introduced Play Green initiatives to new schools while progressing through their education.Wekesa, who is still only 25 and recently finished his mechanical engineering degree, recognises that travelling to play rugby has its own carbon footprint and tries to minimise what he can.But he says that other people’s pledges, such as using sustainable transport to attend sports events, motivate him to do more, because it is evidence that people engage with climate change through sport.
“It creates a wider group of people who are like a Play Green team around the world.”This is an extract from our newsletter, The Hotspot.To subscribe just visit this page and follow the instructions.
How to make arancini – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass
Before I wrote this recipe, it hadn’t occurred to me that the word “arancini” means “little oranges”, and, plump, round and golden as they are, it makes sense, too. Indeed, these robust rice balls, which are said to have come to Sicily with Arab invaders in the 10th century, are now, according to the late Antonio Carluccio, the local equivalent of a sandwich lunch.Prep 25 min Cook 45 min Makes 8 large ballsFor the risotto700ml chicken stock, or vegetable stock100ml white wine (optional)250g short-grain rice (eg, arborio)½ tsp salt, plus extra to season1 very generous pinch saffron (optional)50g parmesan, or grano padano or vegetarian alternative, gratedBlack pepperFor the arancini2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk100g mozzarella, drained and cut into chunksOptional other fillings of your choice – meat ragu, pesto, sauteed mushrooms, wilted or defrosted greens170g plain flour 250g fine dried breadcrumbs (preferably not panko)Neutral oil, for fryingFlaky sea salt, to finish (optional)Risotto is a northern Italian dish, so Sicilian arancini weren’t designed with it in mind, but they are great vehicles for risotto leftovers. My recipe is intended for 700g cooked rice, but adjust the fillings and coating according to what you have; these are also a great way to repurpose small amounts of ragu, cooked vegetables, fish or meat.If you’re cooking the rice from scratch, put the stock and wine (or substitute 100ml extra stock, if you prefer) in a medium pan and bring to a boil – I like chicken stock, because I find it the most neutrally savoury, but use whatever suits the fillings you’re using
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Spring soup and bean and cheese quesadillas: Thomasina Miers’ Mexican-inspired seasonal recipes
I have always loved the evident (though not proven) link between how foodie a country is and its love of soups. In Mexico, where nose-to-tail eating is a given, broths maintain a steadying presence in any self-respecting cantina, and soups are commonplace on most menus. We don’t eat a crazy amount of meat at home, but having homemade stock in the freezer is an ingenious fast track to flavour and goodness. Here, whether your stock is chicken or vegetable, homemade or shop-bought, the joy is in the gentle spicing, a scattering of herbs, zingy tomatillos and some lovely spring leaves.There are so many different herbs in Mexico that are impossible to find here, so I’ve used bundles of more common soft herbs to try to capture the lovely breadth of flavour in this soup
Willy’s, Margate, Kent: ‘It chortles in the face of small plates’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants
This cute and jovial eatery is reason enough to make a break for the coastAs summer looms, and with it the urge to stampede towards the edges of Britain in search of paddling opportunities, I proffer another coastal dining idea: Willy’s in Margate – and, yes, that name does have about it something of the naughty seaside postcard. Tucked away in the back of Margate House hotel on Dalby Square, a few minutes’ walk from the seafront, Willy’s is a blur of frilly red-and-pink seaside adorableness. It’s cool, cute and jovial, with pork scratchings and apple chutney on the menu, as well as black pudding scotch eggs, sticky toffee pudding and Sunday lunches of beef rump and baked cauliflower cheese. This menu is short, intentional and hearty, rather than airy-fairy, and it chortles in the face of small plates.But, for the foodie/sippy crowd, the signifiers are all here: there’s a paper plane and a penicillin on the cocktail menu, throwbacks to New York’s iconic Milk and Honey bar
Why sweet, chewy dates go perfectly with chocolate – and the best ones to try
I first cemented the allure of the “chew” aged 14, working illegally as a chambermaid (I lied about my age) and finding a guest’s Gummy Bears laid open – a breach I heavily exploited. Recently this chew need has been sated by dates and their use in chocolate as a healthy caramel. Dates do have nutritional benefits over mere sugar: fibre, minerals, antioxidants and make a great pre-workout boost.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link
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