From 3rd to 5th August 2025, I had the privilege of representing GROVE – Green Remediation of Viable Ecosystems at the Kenya Scouts National Inter-Patrol Competitions at the Kenya Scouts Association headquarters in Kibera, Nairobi. GROVE is a youth-led environmental project started by the University of Nairobi’s Scouting Crew and this was an invaluable chance to share our work on one of Kenya’s seemingly quieter but dangerous environmental threats: heavy metal pollution. What stood out to me most wasn’t just the opportunity to showcase the project, but the subsequent conversations it sparked. While I explained how heavy metals affect life forms on land and in water, bioaccumulation in fish and diminished plant health, Scouts from different parts of the country began sharing their own experiences. They spoke of polluted rivers back home, of farms affected by industrial runoff, of long term effects of mining activities in their localities. Their lived experiences reminded me how GROVE’s challenge is tightly woven into the everyday realities of people across Kenya. It became an exchange. Sharing the science behind hyperaccumulation and ecosystem restoration while learning new ways to talk about it, ways rooted in lived experiences, community language and the values we share as Scouts. I left positively challenged and with new lenses for engaging people in our mission. Some of the people we connected with during the three days were eager to join the cause, and so we kept the conversation going on our social media platforms, long after the closing ceremony. Beyond the exhibition stands, I loved moving around at the competition grounds; especially to witness the band contests by the Mwamba Scouts. This whole experience was a reminder of why we do what we do. Each conversation, question, shared story, planted seeds of awareness and action. At GROVE, we believe change starts from the ground up, so let's keep rooting for the planet.