Harnessing plants and microbes to tackle environmental pollution

The Niger Delta is an area known for its bountiful supply of petroleum and has been an established hotspot for oil and gas production since the 1950s. But this comes at a destructive price: it’s also one of the most polluted places on the planet. Paving the way in tackling this is Eucharia Nwaichi whose work uses decidedly greener means of cleaning up these polluted environments. Plants are at the centre of Nwaichi’s research into sustainable methods of degrading or removing the contaminants present in the Niger Delta in an effort to salvage the land, restore biodiversity and help local communities.