Oepsie the Ostrich is off to Spain!

Oepsie the Ostrich, made by a 10-year-old Rustenburg boy, Dohann Schoonbee from Deutsche Schule Kroondal, has been on the road for over a year. He has assisted the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) and the Wrigley Litter Less Campaign in South Africa to promote a cleaner, greener and healthier environment.

At the Eco-Schools National Operators' Meeting (NOM), with over 60 country representatives participating in the Eco-Schools programme, Oepsie was offered and accepted the opportunity to spread his message to Spain. Oepsie has raised our awareness that burning plastic and tyres causes asthma and cancer and has shown that we can do creative and fun things with waste to beautify our surroundings or possibly to sell. For example, Temogo Special School obtains old linen from tourist establishments and makes these into bags or cushion covers and then paints floral motifs.

Oepsie has encouraged three schools to start herb gardens and these have been used to make a type of Zambuc and to bake rolls and biscuits. Broken mirror and tiles that were found in the bush have been re used. Scarecrows, pallet swings, bottle top wall murals, educational toys for pre-schoolers, birdfeeders and T-shirts from shopping bags are other items that have been made from waste. Tyres are being used as borders, planters, tables and chairs, an earthworm farm and to make see-saws for pre-schoolers.

Currently three schools have earthworm farms and 15 schools have food gardens. Oepsie also started a recycling swop shop which has been a success with the two participating schools choosing the option to receive washable sanitary pads rather than stationary. To date 56 girls have earned themselves packs and we hope that this will assist them in feeling confident to attend school during their monthly cycle. 

Eco-Schools National Operators' Meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa

via WESSA.

Last week WESSA (the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa) played host to the 2016 international FEE Eco-Schools conference – also known as the National Operators’ Meeting (NOM) – in Johannesburg.  The three day event saw 85 delegates from over 50 countries around the world come together for an exchange of knowledge and best practices around environmental education at school level.

The focus of this year’s conference was the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the critical role that the Eco-Schools programme plays throughout the world in supporting these goals by providing education for sustainable development. The Eco-Schools programme aims to create awareness and action around environmental sustainability in schools and their surrounding communities, as well as to support Education for Sustainable Development in national curriculum. 

Eco-Schools is a programme of FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education) – a non-profit organisation based in Denmark – and is active at 49,000 schools in 64 countries around the world. One organisation is selected as the local Eco-Schools programme representative in each country and WESSA has been the South African implementation partner since the programme was launched in the country in 2003.  Through the Eco-Schools programme WESSA has reached over 400,000 learners and 16,000 teachers in the country, providing dedicated support to schools through the Eco-Schools principles of environmental education, teacher training, transformative learning, empowerment and behavioural change.

This is the first time that the annual international Eco-Schools conference has been hosted in Africa and the Johannesburg event has been hailed the most well attended Eco-Schools conference to date.

The gala dinner – sponsored by Coca-Cola African Beverages, Woolworths, PlasticsSA and the National Recycling Forum – was a celebration of the world-wide Eco-Schools programme. It also gave WESSA the opportunity to recognise and thank the many local partners, funders and teachers who have contributed to the success of the programme locally and who understand the important role that Eco-Schools plays in addressing the education challenges in the country. 

Key local corporate partners present at the event included Nampak who have been loyal supporters and funders of the programme for over 10 years.  Also present were some of WESSA’s government partners in the Eco-Schools programme, who include the Department of Basic Education; the Department of Environmental Affairs; the Northern Cape Department of Environmental and Nature Conservation; the Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs; and the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation, who together with WESSA Eco-Schools fund the joint Water Action project that has won multiple awards over the past five years.

The keynote address at the gala dinner was delivered by 50|50 television producer, presenter and writer Ntokozo Mbuli, who inspired the audience by sharing the story of her own journey to becoming a passionate advocate for environmental education. She has been a vocal activist for environmental causes in South Africa through her the coverage of environmental issues in numerous television documentaries, and has engaged with schools and corporate organisations in her role as a public figure. In 2015, WESSA honoured Ntokozo with their National Award for Individuals for her contribution to conservation and environmental education and for inspiring a community of people from very diverse backgrounds.

WESSA is proud to be part of the international environmental education community, and its hosting of the 2016 international Eco-Schools conference forms part of the organisation’s programme of special activities to mark its milestone 90th birthday this year.

Ends.

NOTES TO EDITORS

For more information about WESSA visit www.wessa.org.za

For more information about Eco-Schools visit www.ecoschools.global

For more information about FEE visit www.fee.global

Ghent School Ecological footprint

Flemish primary school in Ghent, Belgium. This school received the Green Flag this year!

Watch the video!

The Bureau for Education Services officially launches the Eco-Schools programme in Montenegro

International Eco-Schools Director was delighted to speak at the launch of Eco-Schools in Montenegro along with Mr Radovan Popović, Director for the Bureau for Education Services (FEE’s new Affiliate Member), Ms Arijana Nikolić Vučinić, Deputy Minister for Primary and Preschool Education and Education of Persons with Special Education Needs. Members of the panel also included Ms Jelena Knežević, Head of the Department for Sustainable Development and Integrated Management of Sea and Coastal Zone in the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism; Ms Srna Sudar, Director of Regional Environmental Centre – Country Office Montenegro; and Ms Jelena Vukasović, President of the Environmental Consultancy of Montenegro (FEE full member).
 
Present at the launch were circa 60 teachers and school principals, of which 34 have already signed up to be part of the programme. The launch was hosted at Bureau for Education Services offices in Podgorica.  National Operators from Croatia and from Serbia attended, as did teachers and principals from both countries who gave interesting presentations about the work being done from kindergarten right up to university level. 
 
FEE and Eco-Schools is thrilled to welcome Montenegro as the 63rd country to begin to run the Eco-Schools programme.

It has been a Diamond Decade for Flower Valley’s centre

Flower Valley’s Early Learning Centre has become the first school in the Overberg region of South Africa to receive the Eco-Schools Diamond Decade Award. The award celebrates 10 years of environmental education, as per the Eco-Schools curriculum, and is presented by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa).

Flower Valley Conservation Trust is a non-profit organisation operating across the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. The Trust works to protect fynbos landscapes, jobs dependent on fynbos, and to support a holistic education to pre-school centres in the region. Fynbos is a shrubby vegetation that is picked for bouquets sold around the world, although it faces many threats, with many species already extinct.

When the Trust launched in 1999, an Early Learning Centre was also started on Flower Valley Farm, the home of the Trust in the Western Cape. This pre-school provided a safe learning environment for the children of fynbos harvesters at the time. Today, the centre cares for 27 children aged two to six from across the region, including the rural areas and the small towns situated nearby.

According to the Wessa Eco-Schools team, the Flower Valley centre is providing young children passing through the centre “a good and sound environmental ethic”.

The centre was praised for its well-stocked vegetable garden, medicinal plants section, water-wise garden and scented garden. “This must bring great joy to all at school and to your visitors.” The centre teaches youngsters how to plant their own gardens, compost, recycle, upcycle and about sustainable water use, among other themes.

Wessa coordinates the Eco-Schools programme in South Africa. More than 10,000 schools participate in the programme across the country.

Young Conservation Heroes Call for Protection of the Planet

Two Eco-Schools students took part in Sembang@WWF, a  bilingual story-telling platform that empowers youths and students to share their ideas on environmental sustainability activities with a larger audience.
They studied relevant current issues, and had to undergo numerous rehearsals and tests before sharing their presentations with the audience. The content of their presentations has been guided and verified by WWF-Malaysia in-house Experts.

WWF-Malaysia's Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Programme hosted the second edition of Sembang@WWF 2016 in conjunction with the Earth Day on 23 April 2016.

© WWF-Malaysia / ESD

Ng Yong Zheng, who represented the Eco-Schools Progamme of WWF-Malaysia, emphasised the need to address climate change through his talk, 'We Are Living in South Haze Asia'.  He shared his views on the impact of haze from the perspective of a 17-year old student. 

"We cannot depend on environmental NGOs only to overcome polution. It is everyone’s responsibility if all of us want clean air to breathe.

We must ensure corporations, big or small, embassies and governmental agencies to work together with the people to ensure this problem can be solved"

© WWF-Malaysia / ESD

In showing their commitment to WWF-Malaysia’s  'My Fin My Life' campaign,  Khou Jerome and Nurul Syazwani Mohammad Zikri, both representatives from Eco-Institutes Programme, and Jessadine Rose Baluyot, from the Eco-Schools Programme, took the challenge to call people to stop shark finning and shark fin soup consumption.

The whole article can be found at the following link: Young Conservation Heroes Call for Protection of the Planet through Sembang@WWF Storytelling Platform

© WWF-Malaysia / ESD

How our Kenyan member, KOEE, is working to reduce the heat in Africa

Practicing Education for Sustainable Development
through Eco-Schools

Joto Afrika, meaning 'Africa is feeling the heat' in Swahili, is a series of briefing and online resources reporting on climate change and climate adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa. It draws lessons, experiences and practical information from across several sub-Saharan African countries.

Joto Afrika was conceptualised, developed and produced by the Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN), Kenya, in partnership with IDS Knowledge Services and the AfricaAdapt Network.

An article about Eco-Schools Kenya appears on page 8, 'Practicing Education for Sustainable Development through Eco-Schools'.

It presents the programme and describes a particularly meaningful case story from St. Mary's Girls' Primary School in Machakos County, which managed to reduce the amount of firewood used per term after an environmental audit conducted by the students. More resource efficiency has led to an improvement of the school feeding programme, raising the number of girls enrolled from 50 to 200.

The chef at St. Mary's Girls Primary School in Machakos preparing a meal using an improved energy saving jiko. © David Wandabi

The full publication can be found at the following link: Issue 17 - Green Growth: An Overview of the Framework for Development

Inviting papers for International Conference - ESD for Transforming Education for Children and Youth

Dear Madam/Sir,

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has got a wide recognition during the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development as an effective process for transforming education for children and youth.

The International Conference ‘ESD for transforming Education for Children and Youth’ will be held at the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Ahmedabad, India from 16-18 September 2016. The conference provides a platform to delegates from over 80 countries to present their experiences and research work. The conference aims at sharing research and experiences about engaging youth and children in both formal and non-formal settings for EE/ESD, and their potential to transform education.

Participants can choose the mode of presentation from the ones mentioned below:

• Oral Presentations
• Poster Presentations – They could be used to present an idea/concept/research
• Round Table Discussions

The objective of the conference is to bring together the global experience and expertise on the following Thematic Areas:

This is a good opportunity for researchers and organisations to share their experiences at the conference. To know more about the Paper submission procedure, please visit the website: http://ceeindia.org/esdconf/call for abstract.html

For any queries regarding the Paper submission, contact papers@ceeindia.org

Thanks and Regards,

Paper Committee

The Great Plant Hunt in Action, Green-Schools Ireland

© Green-Schools Ireland

On 29 February 2016, Rachel Boyle International LEAF Director and Project Manager for the Eco-Schools Toyota Biodiversity Educational Project, the Great Plant Hunt, travelled to Ireland to visit some of the participating schools. Bríd Conneely, International Eco-Schools Director and Ian Corbett, Marketing Manager, Toyota Ireland also attended. 

The Great Plant Hunt is a joint initiative of Toyota Motor Europe and the Foundation for Environmental Education. The campaign includes practical activities based on resources developed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew with funding from the Wellcome Trust. The campaign focuses on biodiversity with a particular emphasis on plants and their associated species. Initially, it is being run in ten countries throughout Europe, including Ireland. This year, the focus is on students aged 5-7.  

© Green-Schools Ireland

National Operators are responsible for coordinating the project on the ground. National Operators engage with the participating schools and ensure the project is being implemented according to the guidelines. To begin the project, schools survey the students to assess the levels of awareness in relation to biodiversity and the chosen species. Schools then create Habitat Maps of their grounds and come up with innovative ways to help biodiversity and increase the levels of awareness amongst the students and wider community.  Later in the school year, schools will reassess the levels of awareness to see if there has been an increase and remap the school grounds showing off any improvements made throughout the school year. 

Méabh Boylan, Green-Schools Biodiversity Officer and Project Officer, with An Taisce, Ireland, arranged visits to two of the participating schools in the Dublin area. The schools visited were St. Gabriel’s National School, Ballyfermot and Mount Sackville, Chapelizod. Participating students were able to tell us about the importance of biodiversity and how plants are an important part of many life cycles, supporting insects, birds and mammals by providing food and habitats for nesting and shelter. Students proudly showed off the Habitat Maps they had created as part of their Review process and sang songs related to biodiversity.   

© Green-Schools Ireland

Ms. Boylan brought live insects for the students to observe and sketch. This caused great excitement amongst the students and provided the perfect learning environment. Maria Kelly, Green-Schools Coordinator in St. Gabriel’s National School, and other participating teachers commented on the benefits of such workshops and how they helped to reach some of their teaching objectives. 

© Green-Schools Ireland

Ian Corbett, Marketing Manager, Toyota Ireland: “Toyota is aware of the importance of environmental protection and biodiversity conservation globally. Toyota Ireland is delighted to have the opportunity to see, first hand, the wonderful work being done by schools on a national level, through The Great Plant Hunt project. It’s great to see students of such a young age so interested and aware of Ireland’s native biodiversity.’’ 

First Ever Eco-Schools Expo in Ireland

25 February 2016, Brid Conneely, International Eco-Schools Director and Rachel Boyle International LEAF Director attended the first ever Eco-Schools Expo in Ireland!

An incredible event organised by a fantastic team and attended by inspiring students and teachers from all over Ireland.

President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins attended with his wife, Sabina Higgins and gave a powerful speech, praising the schools for their huge efforts and talked about the importance of 'reconnecting'.

Exhibitions from schools filled the hall and informative talks were held throughout the day. Evelyn Cusack, RTÉ weather presenter, Deputy Head of Forecasting at Met Éireann and Secretary of the Irish Meteorological Society finished off the day with an interesting talk on weather and the changes throughout time.

Principal of Eco-School in Wales nominated for The Global Teacher Prize 2016

Janet Hayward, Principal of Cadoxton Primary School, a Third Green Flag status Eco-School, is one of the finalists of The Global Teacher Prize 2016. The Global Teacher Prize is an annual $1US million dollar award that will be given to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession.

The Varkey Foundation established the Prize in 2014 to raise the stature of the teaching profession. The award — dubbed the ‘Nobel Prize’ of teaching — operates under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai. The Prize underlines the importance of the teaching profession and symbolises the fact that teachers throughout the world deserve to be recognised and celebrated. The winner is chosen by the prominent Global Teacher Prize Academy made up of head-teachers, educational experts, commentators, journalists, public officials, tech entrepreneurs, company directors and scientists from around the world. The winner will be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in March 2016 in Dubai.

Janet has been the principal at two schools in Wales; both have achieved Eco-Schools status and shown long term commitment to the Eco Schools programme. As Head teacher Janet has always shown her support and just recently offered the use of facilities at her present school to host a local Eco-Schools teacher training workshop. The pupils and staff have taken part in many Eco-Schools topic activities from school ground development and growing food, to investigating transport and supporting healthy living choices. The school was a test case for solar-powered computers and boasts a computer suite run on renewables!

Due to her enthusiasm for engaging students through technology, in particular socially disadvantaged young boys who can be hard to reach with traditional teaching methods, both her schools became ICT pathfinders and have won several awards.

Janet has also set up a Lego Innovation studio that is shared between three schools and supports challenging STEM learning. Technology is used as a driver to engage learners in and between lessons, allowing them to collaborate and lead their own learning in a creative and ambitious way. Standards and attendance have steadily risen and student behaviour has improved.

Her students have led the consultation process for a grant funding application to extend the facilities of their Community Learning Café. The local authority was so impressed by the quality of their submission that the students have been asked to consult on the use of considerable redevelopment funds for their area.

The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and Eco-Schools International commend the great work done by Janet and wish her all the best in her future career. She is already a winner to us!

The Global Scrapbook Campaign

Eco-Schools Finland are happy to announce that 23 scrapbooks are departing this week from Finland in order to bring greetings and joy to other Eco-Schools around the world!

The Eco-Schools Global Scrapbook Campaign, initiated by Eco-Schools Finland, will bring together 100 schools and kindergartens from different countries participating in the programme. The purpose of the campaign is to establish links between Eco-Schools and kindergartens in different countries as well as to spread joy and share stories about their life and Eco-School activities.

Kids in one of the Finnish kindergartens participating in the scrapbook campaign, curiously searching their scrapbook route on the map and learning about the world

Every year at the beginning of February, Eco-Schools Finland hosts a special festive day, when all schools participating in the programme are encouraged to spread joy and warmth
to others through creative and eco-friendly activities such as environmental art and shared outdoor days.  This year it is also being done internationally!

This spring the scrapbooks will travel to 11 different Eco-Schools countries: Croatia, Turkey, Spain, Latvia, Belgium, Bermuda, Denmark, Northern Ireland, Australia, the Netherlands and Uganda

More info:

Ms. Iitu Kiminki
Eco-Schools Finland
iitu.kiminki@ymparistokasvatus.fi

WWF Eco-Schools Conference 2015

Environmental education is an important conservation method employed by WWF to advance its objectives. Success is measured by the ability of local organisations to design, adapt, and maintain their own environmental education programmes.

The internationally recognised Green Flag award rewards educational institutions for their environmental programme that empower students to be the change our world needs by engaging them in fun, action oriented learning experiences. 

The first Eco-Schools Green Flags for Singapore were awarded at the annual WWF Eco-Schools Conference on 6th November 2015 to Ang Mo Kio Secondary School and Nan Hua High School. Congratulations!

The conference also featured keynote speakers Sid Das, Executive Director of Earth Hour Global, and Jonn Lu, Regional Director for Shark Savers Asia Pacific. Local, regional and global experts from Earth Hour, EarthFest, Ground-up Initiative and Coral Triangle Initiative, to name a few, were the conference theme influencers, and were also present.

They elaborated on the conference theme "YOU can be the CHANGE", urging students and educators to be the change our world needs. Apart from lunch time interactive engagements, there were several student and educator initiated forums, capability building workshops and plenary sessions for both students and educators. #bethechange