Hey guys, nice to have you back here on my page. Hope everyone has been doing great. Get excited, I am going to tell you about the project I am currently working on for the Outreachy season.
Okay so let's get right to it.

My project for the season is themed: "Climate change mitigation: extending models of forest carbon pools to new countries". Very exciting right? Yes. So...

What is Climate Change?

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas.

Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures.

Examples of greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and methane. These come from using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a building, for example. Clearing land and forests can also release carbon dioxide. Landfills for garbage are a major source of methane emissions. Energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture, and land use are among the main emitters.

What is Climate Change Mitigation?

Mitigating climate change is about reducing the release of greenhouse gas emissions that are warming our planet. Mitigation strategies include retrofitting buildings to make them more energy efficient; adopting renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and small hydro; helping cities develop more sustainable transport such as bus rapid transit, electric vehicles, and biofuels; and promoting more sustainable uses of land and forests.

About 1.4 billion people around the world rely on traditional fuels like coal and wood to meet their basic energy needs. This is not only harmful to the environment; it can also lead to premature deaths for millions of people, especially women and children. By 2035, global energy demand is projected to grow by more than 50 percent, and even faster in developing countries. All these new consumers need clean energy that will not hurt them or the environment.

Okay enough with the terms, let me tell you about this awesome organization I am learning a lot from.

Moja global is a collaborative project under the Linux Foundation that supports ambitious climate action by bringing together a community of experts to develop open-source software – including the groundbreaking FLINT software – which allows users to accurately and affordably estimate greenhouse gas emissions and removals from forestry, agriculture and other land uses (AFOLU).

Anyone(I mean literally anyone(including you especially)) can make a contribution to the software, the science, the documentation, and the promotion of Moja global’s tools.

Moja global’s mission is to support ambitious climate action by developing pioneering, open-source software – including the groundbreaking FLINT software – to help users accurately and affordably estimate greenhouse gas emissions and removals from forestry, agriculture and other land uses (AFOLU).

Land plays an important role in global cycles of greenhouse gases (GHG). Land use activities result in emissions and removals of GHG to the atmosphere. The Fifth Assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector is responsible for almost a quarter (~10–12 Gt CO2eq/yr) of anthropogenic GHG emissions mainly from activities such as deforestation, forest degradation and also from livestock, soil, nutrient management and agricultural burning.

Moja global's Full Lands Integration Tool (FLINT) has been developed to support the GHG inventories development and the implementation of mitigation actions in the AFOLU sector. But, some functions and features of the FLINT need to be refined or added in order to fully support mitigation actions and establishment and maintenance of sustainable GHG inventory management systems in developing countries.

The UNFCCC secretariat has initiated a collaboration with moja global to refine the FLINT and make it available to developing countries across all regions.

"Climate change mitigation: extending models of forest carbon pools to new countries" focuses on the development of FLINT module to account for the dynamics of carbon from forest living biomass into dead organic matter pools (DOM). A DOM module simulates annual changes in the C stocks of each pool that occur due to growth, biomass turnover, litterfall, transfer and decomposition as well as complex disturbances that can alter biomass turnover, and transfers between DOM pools (litter, dead wood and soil).

I am working with moja global ecosystem modelling experts to identify candidate models for describing DOM dynamics in forestry, collect data and parameter calibrations to test and evaluate the DOM module.

Great communication skills in writing, project documentation and data management were very valuable to participate in this project. I was working as part of a team to document the project. I am also develop expertise in climate change research, data analysis and team collaboration. Skills in Python, R or C++ are very desirable for this project. And so you should know any code developed under this project is open source to facilitate GHG models by experts around the world.

Simple Shell?

Oh hey there, I am Simple Shell, a tech enthusiast currently on internship at Outreachy for the Dec-2021 season. It is an exciting opportunity to push me further to do something worthwhile. I am based in Cameroon, a West African country. Aside from shells and codes, I love painting, hiking and, writing.

My C3 Core Values

1. Curiosity








2. Creativity








3. Challenge

Eager Beaver

If you are thinking about an internship, the likelihood is that you, like hundreds of other grads, understand how difficult it can be in today's competitive job market. You are qualified (or nearly qualified) and super eager to get started, but no one seems to be giving you that first professional opportunity.

Outreachy provides internships in open source to people subject to systemic bias and impacted by underrepresentation in the technical industry where they are living.

Anyone who faces under-representation, and systemic bias or discrimination in the technology industry of their country is invited to apply.

Interns work with experienced mentors from open source communities. Outreachy internship projects may include programming, user experience, documentation, illustration, graphical design, or data science. Interns often find employment after their internship with Outreachy sponsors or in jobs that use the skills they learned during their internship.

Here are 4 reasons I took the internship with Outreachy and felt great about my decision:

To Build confidence

Whether it be public speaking, giving presentations, or simply suggesting new ideas, an internship with Outreachy will build my confidence which allows me to grow as both a worker and a person. Confidence is key because if I don’t believe in myself, No one will! This is a wonderful opportunity to expose myself within the industry. This Outreachy Internship will help me build confidence through practice which will also help in my personal growth. After all, practice makes perfect!

To communicate

Outreachy Internships requires me to both work individually and within a team. I can learn to communicate in new ways to build professional working relationships with people of all ages. This is great because it allows me to be open to other people’s ideas and to get creative in a team in order to build better ideas and ultimately, to build a better company.

To gain experience

I don't have much experience and this is one of the best ways to get it. The best experience comes from internships because one gets to do a bit of everything! I can experience the different roles that people play in certain companies and see working life from different perspectives. This is good to take into the working world because at times, one can be asked to do various tasks involving different elements of the company. This way, I would have already had a go at things and understood how to multitask.

To Build My Network

One of the most challenging things for me to do is network. How do I make connections when I don't know anyone in my field or industry yet? Outreachy allows me to meet people including higher-ups, fellow interns, and coworkers in between. I can stay in touch with everyone after the internship and keep them up-to-date on my career. You never know when these connections will bear fruit.

Recently taken an internship and had a great experience? Let us know by sending us a message below!