A Green Challenge for Everyone

Last year in Montenegro, four schools got together to collaborate on an ambitious project in order to increase the students’ knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Story provided by Olivera Lučić – Nikšić, Montenegro

The four schools implemented many different activities to raise awareness about the SDGs. They produced T-shirts, posters, brochures, and flyers to get the word around. They made a teacher-competition where they awarded the teachers who successfully had implemented the SDGs in their own subjects through collaboration and teamwork.

They also created a web platform for students with Green Challenges in different categories like Water, Food, Waste, Fashion, Health and more. The students participating in the challenge collected points in the different categories and were asked to document their initiatives through photographs and videos. A three-member jury chose the winners in each of the different categories.   

In order to create “Green Classrooms”, some of the students at the schools also made benches for the courtyard out of recyclable materials, planted indigenous trees, flowers, and creepers to provide a nice setting for outdoor classes.

To spread the word about the initiatives in the four schools and encourage other schools to do the same, the project team created an online application form for all interested elementary and secondary schools. This resulted in more than 30 teachers and about 600 students from across the country being involved in the “A Green Challenge for Everyone” project.

A computer science teacher from one of the involved schools describes the project like this:

““This project creates educational content for primary and secondary school students to be prepared for new social and environmental challenges in the future and to make important life and business decisions. It is of great importance to create such educational content for primary and secondary school students who are in a period of life when they receive the most information on a daily basis, which they need to integrate into their daily activities, and on which the further development of them as individuals, as well as the society in which they operate, depends most”. ”

The sustainability awareness created by the project also spread to the community surrounding the schools. The students showed great interest in transferring their responsibility and knowledge about their impact on the environment to their families and the wider community.

Eco-Schools students in Qatar come together to reduce their “food print”

At Doha College in Qatar, a student from the schools Eco Committee had the idea of creating more vegetarian options at the school cafeteria. This idea led to multiple activities and campaigns that all had the mission to make students more aware of their “food print” and at the same time encourage them to choose more low carbon food options.

Story provided by Ruba Hinnawi, Doha College – Qatar

25 % of the Qatari children are overweight and 17 % of the adult population has diabetes. This, along with the fact that Qatar only produces 27 % of the food they consume, makes it an important need to bring the Qatari youth closer to the food they eat and help them understand the connections between their diet and health, as well as the impact their food habits have on the environment.

The Eco Committee at Doha College showed great initiative to accomplish this when they helped bring the school’s attention to its “food print” and encouraged the school to have more vegetarian options at school and at home. In collaboration with a local business, the school even opened a vegan tuck shop at the school cafeteria. Lasitha Edirisinghe, Eco School Prefect describes the vegan café:

“‘After the Eco School campaigns, and the free tasting sessions that we organised, people starting going there for lunch much more often. By the end of the first year, more and more people were going there, partly because we were more aware that it was better for the environment, but also because the food just tasted really good!!

”

The school came up with many different ideas to spread awareness about the impact that our eating habits have on the environment. They organised different competitions to promote sustainable food habits and initiated a Green Day that included different green activities, one being food stalls with either high carbon or low carbon snacks where the prices reflected the items’ different carbon emission based on a specific tax on the high carbon food.

The school’s Eco Committee also sent out surveys to the students to review their willingness to consume less meat. Afterwards, the school launched Meatless Mondays which lead to Meatless May, where they used the school’s social media platforms to encourage the students and their families to continue the sustainable food lifestyle while they were confined to their homes due to COVID-19.

Other activities related to the school’s sustainable food initiatives were trips to local farms where the students had the opportunity to learn about what it takes to produce food.

As a part of Qatar Sustainability week, the school also implemented different green activities that were open to parents and community members. Almost 1,000 students from primary to high school participated in the activities. Brian Kerr, Eco-School Coordinator describes the impact here:

“Students in Doha College are now highly cognisant of the food industry, its impact on the environment, and how they themselves have agency in the consumer decisions that they make”

Raising the next generation of eco-warriors to change the world

Frugi partners with Keep Britain Tidy’s Eco-Schools programme to help fund up to 150 UK schools to achieve a Green Flag certification

Press release from Eco-Schools England

2 July 2020 - Frugi, the leading ethical and organic children’s clothing company, is proud to announce a partnership with Eco-Schools as part of their Little Clothes BIG Change charity initiative. Each year Frugi donates 1% of turnover to charity and has so far donated £600,000 over the past 16 years to help children and environmental non-profit organisations.

Frugi’s ambition is ‘to help raise the next generation of eco-warriors to change the world’, which makes the Eco-Schools programme, the largest educational programme in the world, the ideal partner.   

With a goal to empower young people to take environmental actions to get their whole school and community involved, schools follow a Seven Step programme that culminates in achieving an international Eco-Schools Green Flag certification.

Frugi/Eco-School Partnership

Frugi is committed to funding the Eco-Schools Green Flag fees for up to 150 UK schools from Early Years Foundation (3-5), Primary Schools (5-11) all the way through to Secondary and Further Education (12-18) and is the first company to sponsor schools for all age groups. 

To kick off the partnership, Frugi is sponsoring a ’10-day challenge’ as part of the hugely successful #EcoSchoolsAtHome campaign which was launched during the Covid-19 lockdown. Each day Frugi and Eco-Schools will launch a new challenge around one of the Eco-Schools topics: Biodiversity, Energy, Global Citizenship, Healthy Living, Litter, Marine, School Grounds, Transport, Waste and Water. The challenges are being supported by a raft of environmental influencers, including household names such as Rowing Champion Helen Glover, Robert Douglas from This Father Life, TV Presenter Radzi Chinyanganya and young cycling guru Ruby Isaacs.  Frugi will also be running various competitions for pupils to win organic t-shirt and sock bundles, water-bottles, back-packs, and other ethically made goodies, during the week.

“Benefiting children, communities, and our environment, Eco-Schools share the same goals, ambitions, and ethos of Frugi.  That’s why we are so proud and excited to be part of this collective global effort to support the education of children on sustainable and environmental issues and to help them to change our world for the better,” says Hugo Adams, CEO of Frugi.

National Eco-Schools Manager Lee Wray-Davies says, “No school in England has to be an Eco-School, and yet 20,100 Eco-Coordinators have given their valuable time (some for over 20 years) to manage and run the programme in their schools, on top of the additional pressures and responsibilities they face within an ever-changing education sector. The maturity and determination of their students to make an environmental difference is a testimony to these inspiring individuals and the Eco-Schools programme. We are the largest educational programme on the planet and with the support of wonderful organisations such as Frugi; helping us to create innovative projects and financially support schools, I don’t doubt we will continue to be for another generation.”

What is Eco-Schools?

Eco-Schools was introduced in 1994 in England as a response to the 1992 UN Rio Earth Summit. It now runs across 67 countries with more than 1,000 English schools proudly flying the internationally recognised Green Flag Award.  It is operated globally by the Foundation for Environmental Education and is managed in England by Keep Britain Tidy.

Keep Britain Tidy is a charity and it is free to register on the Eco-Schools programme. Once registered, schools gain access to free Eco-Schools resources that help them meet the international Seven Step criteria. A fee of £200 (+VAT) is charged to cover the cost of an assessor visit once the programme has been completed and the Green Flag/certification schools received. 

How Does It work?

Spanning 67 countries worldwide, the Eco-School’s programme gives pupils the freedom to decide one of ten Eco-Schools topics they want to work on. Once they have chosen the topics, they are free to decide what actions they want to take and how they are going to involve their school and community. The whole process takes around one academic year until they become a proud Green Flag owner and fully established Eco-School.

The Eco-Schools programme consists of three structural elements, including the Seven Step Framework, the Eco-Schools Topics and assessment for the international Green Flag award. To be successful the programme requires support from school leaders and active involvement from staff, as well as a long-term commitment and the willingness to involve students in decision-making. The Eco-Schools Seven Steps methodology is a series of carefully engineered measures to help schools maximise the success of their Eco-School ambitions.

Why is it worthwhile?

The Eco-Schools programme is an ideal way for schools to embark on a meaningful path towards improving the environment in both the school and the local community while at the same time having a life-long positive impact on the lives of young people and their families.

When a child gets actively involved with Eco-Schools, they enhance their development and are encouraged to use their imagination and voice in a safe, non-judgemental environment. They become minute makers, organisers, planners, and influencers. Eco-Schools has the power to transform pupils into forward thinking, challenge solving, decision making adults of the future.  This not only benefits so many children’s lives, but it helps raise environmental change-makers of the future.

As well as the benefits to pupils, individual schools’ benefit from reducing their environmental impact. Eco-Schools consume less water and energy and produce less waste – in turn saving money that can be allocated elsewhere in the school.

Find out more about the Eco-Schools programme and register for free on their website:
https://www.eco-schools.org.uk/

About Frugi

Frugi was founded in 2004 by Kurt & Lucy Jewson after they struggled to find clothes to fit over cloth nappies. 16 years later, Frugi is the UK’s leading ethical and organic children’s clothing brand available to buy online from welovefrugi.com and over 500 retailers globally in 30 countries. The full range includes tiny baby to ten years with a stylish twinning, maternity, and breastfeeding range for Grown-Ups, as well as bedding and accessories.

Designed in Cornwall, Frugi are daft about clever details and famous for vibrant prints, fun appliqués, and super comfy designs. The range is made from supremely soft, premium organic cotton or recycled materials. Frugi are proud to be certified by the Soil Association and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) receiving the highest level of certification in the world of leading textile processing standards. Every year 1% of turnover is donated to charity through the Frugi Little Clothes, Big Change initiative.  

Frugi is the trading name of Cut4Cloth Ltd registered in England, company number 05011885. The registered office is Wheal Vrose Business Park, Helston, Cornwall TR13 0FG.

Media Inquiries: Samantha Dark, PR Manager at Frugi, sam.dark@welovefrugi.com

Eco-Schools Social Return on Investment

As long as the world is still struggling to achieve universal access for all children into quality primary and secondary education, programmes for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) will be sidelined. But what if these ESD initiatives held answers which could help reverse some of the complex and contextual issues which are preventing progress in education quality, or access for children into education?

This study builds on earlier evidence showing improved enrolment and decreased dropout in primary schools operating rights-based Education for Sustainable Development programme ‘Eco-Schools’ in East Africa. This study aims to qualify enrolment, dropout and academic performance statistics by providing a detailed but holistic account of the processes responsible for the change in six successful Eco-Schools in Uganda and Tanzania. Find the report here.

PRESS RELEASE: International Schools Association joins the Eco-Schools network

PRESS RELEASE

International Schools Association joins the Eco-Schools network

Contact: Nicole Andreou, International Eco-Schools Coordinator nicole@fee.global

On 25 February 2020, the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and the International Schools Association (ISA) entered a MOU with the aspiration to achieve shared goals within the field of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) developed the Eco-Schools programme in 1992 and launched it globally in 1994, as a response to the needs identified at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Since then, the Eco-Schools programme has evolved and retained global reach, becoming an acclaimed international model for Environmental Education and sustainability. Eco-Schools supports the Agenda 2030 and the ESD principles by using a holistic whole-institution approach with its Seven-Step methodology and by building meaningful partnerships.

Global Citizenship, a key outcome of Education for Sustainable Development, is a key value that a learner has to have, along with carrying the sustainability perspective to their future workspace. By definition, International schools have a responsibility to develop this as a core value in their students. I am happy that ISA has adopted this as a core strategy and is joining the Eco-Schools programme.

-        Pramod Kumar Sharma, Senior Director of Education, Foundation for Environmental Education

Within this framework, FEE has partnered with ISA, a well-recognised player in promoting and supporting Education for Sustainability. ISA, founded in 1951, is a prominent organisation in the world of international education and is dedicated to consulting and guiding educators in this area. The ISA Education for Sustainability Curricular Framework for K-12 guides the teaching and learning methods that motivate and empower learners to change their behaviour and take action for sustainable development.

We intend to benefit our two separate school communities in the best possible way. We have chosen carefully to partner to mutually benefit each other, knowingly  surrounding  ourselves with partners who share the same passion for teaching and learning and passing onto the next generation important values such as international understanding and sustainability.  

-        John Lees, Chairman of the Board, International Schools Association    

The partnership promotes collaboration, acknowledgement and mutual appreciation of the two organisations under a mutually beneficial cooperation agreement. Both organisations are recognised by UNESCO and are dedicated to jointly advance ESD today to better the environment of tomorrow.

Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) www.fee.global

International Schools Association (ISA) www.isaschools.org/

New Litter Less Campaign video released

Our Litter Less Campaign spot has just been released! See the short video below.

The Litter Less Campaign is a joint initiative of the Mars Wrigley Foundation and Foundation for Environmental Education. Since its launch in 2011, the Litter Less Campaign has educated over three million students around the world about the challenges of litter and waste in their communities and empowered them to become leaders driving sustainability and positive behavioural change.

To learn more about the campaign, visit the websites of Eco-Schools and Young Reporters for the Environment.

2020 Travel Retail Awards will raise funds for Litter Less Campaign projects in India

UPDATE: TRBusiness.com - TFWA has taken the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 TFWA Asia Pacific Conference & Exhibition. Consequently the TRBusiness Travel Retail Awards ceremony will not take place in Singapore on Tuesday 12 May as initially planned, but will be relocated to a venue in London in June. 

---

The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) has been nominated by our valued partner the Mars Wrigley Foundation to be the beneficiary of funds raised during the 2020 Travel Retail Awards. The third edition of the annual awards ceremony, which is organised by TRBusiness, will be held on the 12th of May at The Conrad Hotel in Singapore.

The funds raised at the Travel Retails Awards will be directed towards the Litter Less Campaign, a joint initiative of FEE and the Mars Wrigley Foundation. The Litter Less Campaign educates children and youth on the issues of litter and pollution and gives them the opportunity to engage their local communities in awareness-raising activities. Since its launch in 2011, the Litter Less Campaign has educated over three million students around the world about the challenges of litter and waste in their communities and empowered them to become leaders driving sustainability and positive behaviour change. Phase IV of the Litter Less Campaign was launched in 2019 and will be implemented in 15 countries through two of FEE’s global education programmes, Eco-Schools and Young Reporters for the Environment.

The Travel Retail Awards raise funds through a charity prize raffle of high-value products donated by the event’s sponsors and participants, along with cash donations made throughout the evening. Proceeds raised for the Litter Less Campaign at the May 2020 event will be specifically directed to projects at twelve schools in the region of New Delhi, India. The Litter Less Campaign will engage roughly 6,000 students and reach hundreds of communities in the region, where littering and waste management issues pose a serious challenge.  

“As a business that is all about better moments that make the world smile, Mars Wrigley ITR is proud to partner with TRBusiness to raise awareness and funds for the Litter Less Campaign. FEE’s Litter Less projects drive behaviour change around litter and waste prevention. They will create better communities in India with the support from the travel retail community, and we are very excited about the opportunity to drive impact in this way.”

–Gary Clarke, General Manager, Mars Wrigely ITR

“FEE is privileged for the funding and for the partnership it has been granted by the Mars Wrigley Foundation since 2011. Litter is a form of pollution that poses an increasing global problem but that can be solved by change in individual behaviour. The Litter Less Campaign is an essential part of our ongoing efforts to educate and change the behaviour of children, youth and adults around the world to reduce the negative impacts of litter. Any additional support that can help us in our pursuit to make schools hubs of positive change will be greatly valued and put to good use. We are grateful to be the designated charity of the Travel Retail Awards and thank the travel retail industry for its generous support and cooperation.”

-Daniel Schaffer, CEO, Foundation for Environmental Education

Funds from the 2020 Travel Retail Awards will benefit Litter Less Campaign projects in India

About the Travel Retail Awards

TRBusiness, retail’s leading provider of duty free and travel retail news, launched the first and only consumer-voted awards dedicated to the travel retail industry in 2018. The game-changing initiative and awards event recognises true ingenuity in travel retailing. It awards airports and products following a judging process, which involves expert research and priceless consumer blogger and video blogger feedback to crown the industry’s trailblazers.

About Foundation for Environmental Education

Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is the world's largest environmental education organisation with members in 77 countries. Through five ground-breaking programmes, FEE empowers people to take meaningful and purposeful action to help create a more sustainable world.

About the Mars Wrigley Foundation

The Mars Wrigley Foundation partners with organizations around the world to help people and communities flourish. Founded in 1987, the Foundation works to provide oral health education and care, improve lives in mint- and cocoa-growing regions, prevent litter and waste, and create vibrant communities.

How to reuse pallets as Plant boxes with the eco-school - British international school of Riyadh

Story provided by the British International school Riyadh-  Saudi Arabia

The British International school of Riyadh was confronted to an issue : the school could not commit to an expansion of the existing Eco Garden due to planned redevelopment of the school site.

Every member of the school scratched their heads. The eco-committee after working on an environmental review decided on an action plan, focusing for this academic year on the expansion of the existing
eco-garden. To achieve this objective they all came out with one solution : placing plant boxes at various sites around the school.

The solution found, it was up to the whole school to take part to this fabulous project, a real team work as Ms Helen Olds, Principle of the British International School Riyadh,  commented "Even those who were initially skeptical and reluctant got involved and seemed to have fun. It’s good to get everyone engaged in our eco work."

The Senior Eco-Coordinator liaised with a parent who worked on a large scale farm outside Riyadh for the delivery of approximately 50 used pallets. Upon receipt of the pallets in May 2019, the school maintenance staff disassembled them, ready for the teaching and administrative staff to construct the plant boxes from during INSET training week in August.

The constructed plant boxes were then handed over to the Senior Eco-Committee who decorated them with the odd touch of paints. Therefore, students developed their art and planting skills, while staff applied their construction skills.

By November, the plant boxes were ready to be placed at prearranged locations around the school site. The Primary Eco-Committee then added the plants they had purchased and took on the task of watering the plant boxes for the rest of the academic year.

This complies with  Eco Code motto of this Saudi Arabian  eco-school 'green thinking in a brown desert.'

Eco-School in Colombia against disposable cups!

Story provided by Sandra Romero, Colegio Anglo Colombiano

At Colegio Anglo Colombiano teachers use a staff room, where they can also get a hot beverage, like coffee and tea. When new people start working at the school, they are all given a reusable cup for hot beverages.

At the same time, the school had disposable cups available for staff, so if by any chance one forgot or lost their cup they could still have a drink. The Eco Committee started to follow-up on the consumption of disposable cups and discovered that the staff was using 2600 cups in just a week! This meant that on average a single employee was using about 18 cups in that same period. All this ended up being waste.

The Eco Committee, terrified with this finding, decided to make a campaign to reduce consumption since one of the themes the school focuses on is waste management. They made posters they put in the staff room and circulated awareness infographics through the school screens about the number of cups being used. At the same time Fonanglo, the employee fund of the school, provided personalised thermos for every associate. This allowed the school to provide reusable cups for all the school staff and be able to cut the use of disposable cups.

As of 15 September 2019, there are no disposable cups available in the staff room!

Beekeeping and fish farming micro-projects

Author: Anna Christine Daa Funder, Foundation for Environmental Education

Story provided by: Elisa Pallangyo, Tanzania Forest Conservation Group

Digalama Primary School in Tanzania is surrounded by Mkingu Nature Reserve, which has a global significance due to its richness in biodiversity and endemic species. However, these are at risk of becoming extinct since the economy of habitats in the communities surrounding the forest is largely dependent on the harvesting of forest resources.

Digalama Primary School is today one among 44 Eco-Schools in Tanzania. Before becoming an Eco-School, it was one of the most underperforming schools in the nation, but in 2018, it managed to increase its performance to 100% due to two projects. In 2016, the school decided to take action by creating sustainable solutions in the school and the village. Following the Seven Steps, it mobilised resources from the community and utilised the support from the Danish Outdoor Council and the Government of Denmark to start up a project. The school managed to get beehives and the revenue from the beekeeping micro-project was reinvested in a second project – a fishing pond.

The projects serve as a teaching and learning support and about 455 students are benefiting from them. They cover curricula content from multiple subjects e.g. ecology, environmental conservation, pollination in biology as well as the topic of measurement in mathematics - by measuring honey in litres and fish in kilograms and grams. Students are now learning both inside and outdoors, and entrepreneurship skills are developed.

“We are involved in each step of the projects. Now I know so many things about bees which I did not know before. Bees are tiny but they are very skillful, they produce honey for us, and we use it for our school meals. Never underestimate the power of a simple, tiny honeybee”

Jazira Shaban, Grade 6 Student, Digalama Primary School

The school has sold 766 litres of honey which has increased the income of the school from 0 to 7.2 million Tanzanian Shillings. 15 community members are replicating the beekeeping and fish farming methodologies in their homes, which has significantly reduced the reliance on forest products which will sustain the Mkingu Reserve ecosystem for years.

The projects have also been supported by the Tanzanian Ministry of Education Science and Technology (MoEST), President's Office Regional Administration and Local Government, District Executive Director as well as UNESCO.

Eco-Schools National Operators Meeting 2019

Back in the Netherlands after 25 years!

Author: Anna Christine Daa Funder

This year’s Eco-Schools National Operators Meeting (NOM) was hosted by Eco-Schools Netherlands at the Green Key awarded bungalow park Landal Reeuwijk from 11-14 November. This NOM was a true homecoming, as the first-ever Eco-Schools meeting was also held in the Netherlands, in the city of The Hague.

The main objectives of the meeting were to celebrate the Eco-Schools 25th Anniversary through campaign ceremonies, look at strategic planning for 2020-2024, strengthen Eco-Schools’ impact at a global scale through campaigns and community engagement, networking and capacity building, exploring opportunities within Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and gaining a better understanding of the FEE EcoCampus programme, its implementation and potential.

The meeting kicked off in the morning of 12 November with an overview of the achievements of 2019, including an appreciation ceremony of the various campaigns, as well as the launch of the 25th-anniversary publication – Changing Together. This was followed by an incredible and highly inspirational keynote speech by Judy Braus from the North American Association of Environmental Education (NAAEE).

Possible approaches towards a greater extent of implementation of Environmental Education in tertiary education were presented by Dorothea Strüber (SDSN), Madhavi Joshi (CEE India), Mazlina Sabtu (WWF Malaysia) and Gosia Luszczek (YRE).

Linda van Meersche (MOS+ Belgium), Wouter de Regt (UNESCO), discussed the Techincal and Vocational Education and Training direction, and how UNESCO can help facilitate the implementation of Eco-Schools in these settings with the experience and material available.  To further inspire attendees to reflect on the matter, the day ended with a field trip to Aeres University of Applied Sciences, a Dutch vocational and technical school as well as to the neighbouring Wageningen University. At Wageningen University the group of Eco-Schools National Operators was greeted by Professor of Social Learning and Sustainable Development & Environmental & Sustainability Education, Arjen Wals, who is not only an expert in the field but also the son of one of the founders of FEE, Harry Wals. Arjen Wals gave a lecture on rethinking teaching and learning in times of climate change, which was followed by a lecture by Raffaele Vignola, PhD on healthy food and the living environment.

On the second day, Pramod Kumar Sharma and Laura Hickey introduced FEE’s 2020-2024 strategic plan focusing on a Climate Emergency Response, and particularly the themes of Climate Change, Loss of Biodiversity and Pollution. The session included reflections on how to plan for the new FEE Global agenda.

An introduction to Sail Training International, FEE’s newest affiliate member implementing Blue Flag for sail training vessels, took place, to present the ways through which Eco-Schools National Operators and Sail Training can collaborate. The session was followed by workshops on teacher training, circular economy and community engagement.

When the group regathered, the new Agree app, developed by dedicated Eco-Schools teachers in Greece, Sweden, France, Hungary and the Netherlands was launched and celebrated.

Since the global FEE and Eco-Schools network get stronger when the member countries and regions in which they are situated gets stronger, the NOs were divided into six regional groups. A closer regional cooperation is not only encouraged by FEE International but is also an initiative with many member countries welcome and are working on.

The sessions were closed with the launch of the Global Forest Fund by Barry McGonigal, an introduction to the latest FEE campaign Children for Children by Gosia Luszczek. Laura Hickey, member of the FEE Board and responsible for Eco-Schools wrapped up the two-day meeting.

On 14 November, Eco-Schools Netherlands offered the opportunity for workshops on the Litter Less Campaign facilitated by Gosia Luszczek and The Great Plant Hunt facilitated by Barry McGonigal. In parallel, participants could visit a marketplace featuring North, Agree: Digital tools for Eco-Schools, NIKON light-on Small, Moyu, Erasmus+ Hob's Adventure and RISO.

New Eco-Schools Children for Children Campaign to Support The Bahamas

It is estimated that 70,000 people, including more than 18,000 children and teachers, have been severely affected by the recent Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas. Twelve Eco-Schools on two islands, Grand Bahama and Abaco, suffered extensive damage or were destroyed.

To support children from our twelve affected Eco-Schools and to raise educational awareness on the increasing vulnerabilities to natural disasters from climate change, the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) has teamed up with our member in The Bahamas, Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation (BREEF), to launch the Children for Children campaign.

 Individual Eco-Schools from our global network of 51,000 schools in 67 countries will be able to participate in this global campaign, which will help educate students on climate change risk reduction and resilience. Each of the actions taken by these schools will also include a fundraising component so they can make donations to help the recovery efforts of affected Eco-Schools in The Bahamas. Donations from outside of the Eco-Schools network are also welcome.

 “The overall goal is to raise educational awareness on the impacts of climate change and the increasing vulnerabilities to disasters, and at the same time help the schools in The Bahamas buy new equipment and educational materials that will allow students to return to normality as soon as possible,” says FEE’s CEO, Daniel Schaffer.

Since 1981 FEE, through its Eco-Schools, Young Reporters for the Environment, and Learning about Forests programmes, has been educating children, youth and adults to increase awareness and action on creating a more sustainable world. Today, with increasing vulnerabilities to natural disasters from climate change, FEE is in a position to mobilise support for rehabilitation and climate resilience, particularly within the educational infrastructure.

“Though born out of adversity, the Children for Children campaign unites the global Eco-Schools network with the children of The Bahamas not only to show that they care, but to lend their financial support to the ongoing recovery of children affected by Hurricane Dorian. As a low-lying archipelago, The Bahamas is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the adverse effects of climate change. Nevertheless, climate change affects every one of us on earth and it is up to us all to take action,” says Casuarina McKinney-Lambert, Executive Director of BREEF.

Next summer the campaign will follow up with the progress of how the recovery efforts for the children and schools in The Bahamas is progressing and a final publication on the ‘Climate change risk reduction and resilience education’ will be published.

To find out more about how to donate, school fundraising activities, educational resources and how an Eco-School can register for this campaign, please visit: www.ecoschools.global/childrenforchildren

Bicycle Workshops in Portugal!

At the secondary school of Gafanha da Nazaré there is a bicycle workshop!

This Eco-School is located in Gafanha da Nazaré, one of the cities of Portugal where the bicycle is most used in daily journeys home-work and home-school. According to the national standards the school is the one where more students and school staff use this type of transport on a daily basis.

In the bicycle parking lot there are about 350 bicycles daily (about 50% of the students). With such number of bicycle users it was necessary to find a way to repair their bikes by themselves! And so the project GafeBikeLab came up, which has the support of the City Hall of Ílhavo and in close collaboration with the University of Aveiro, through its Technology Platform for Bicycle and Soft Mobility. The project also found the support of some local companies and several partners of the local educational community.

The GafeBikeLab projet engages a group of 10 students aged 13 to 17, working there almost daily. They are coached and coordinated by a senior teacher, where they often carry out small free repairs on bicycles. In the remaining time they build bikes from used materials that are offered by different people in the community. This project has been successful to engage students with bikes and their benefits.

In 2019, several bicycles were built and all of them have been offered to students in need, so they can use it to go to school. Some have also been offered to the City Hall so that employees can run errands around the city by bike. The GafeBikeLab also aims to support School of Gafanha da Nazaré to educate students, both in terms of formal and informal skills. Students are able to develop projects and activities that involve other community agents, schools, and other institutions in the region. The activities are developed with the collaboration of teachers of various subjects and are scheduled and integrated in the school annual activities plan defined together with the students.

The central theme assumed by the GAFe BikeLab is "safely using bicycles" and therefore several activities are promoted both in school and in the community to raise awareness. Students participate in various bike talks with selected audiences and bicycle showrooms which are held in different spaces in school.

Photo by Caroline Hernandez on Unsplash

Car-Free Day in Budapest!

The Budapest British International School (BBIS) is proud of all the children and their families who left their car at home on the first BBIS No Car Day.

Children came to school by bus, tram, metro, scooter, bike and shared rides using electric cars. Streets were free of traffic and the children arrived at school energised and knowing they are doing their bit for the air in Budapest. The Eco Committee at BBIS Committee decided this needs to be a regular monthly event in BBIS! The Committee children will keep the school community posted in the newsletter and on the new Eco-News display. The Eco-Committee are going to help inform the children, parents and community of BBIS.

It's Time to Care!

In Czech Republic, our Eco-School ZŠ PŘEROV, TRÁVNÍK participates in the project ‘It’s Time To Care! (ITTC)’, along with schools from Germany, Malta, Portugal, Finland and Latvia. Students participating in the project work together on the themes of water, energy, sustainable living, climate change, consumption and biodiversity, using the gained knowledge, skills, competences and data to engage in environmental learning and teaching.

In preparation for every project meeting, schools analyse the topics they are working with, look for information, process data, evaluate them, try to find a solution to a problem and prepare presentation about it. Schools organise webinars to tackle the issues and tasks, discuss the matters and look for possible suggestions, meet specialists, have educational outings and take part in seminars and lectures focused on the respective topic. During the work on the tasks, all partners use research education methods based on STEAM principles as well as ICT and modern measurement systems. Then each partner makes their own experiments based on the respective topic, makes lesson plans and shoots a short video!

Schools create a bank of e-Methodologies, e-Manuals and e-Videos where those interested can find inspiration for their teaching. The project partner schools cooperate with school communities, local/regional entrepreneurs, companies, town representatives, students - future teachers and experts who are asked to comment work and give their advice.

Even though we have been working intensively and with enthusiasm the projects and have been trying to involve and convince as many people as we could, we feel it is still not enough. Many people agree with the ideas but on the other hand they do not want to respect rules and thus limit themselves.

Each of us can improve living conditions of all people. The SDGs lead us to be responsible people living on the Earth and show consideration for other people and ecosystems and support climate-change measures on which our future lives depend. That is why it is so important that people all over the world know these goals, understand them and engage in achieving of them. The most important thing is not to be afraid to take the first step!

Dagmar Bouchalová

The themes

The aim of ITTC is to give support to students’ education in science and technology, become aware about responsibility of everybody for environmental protection and to enable cooperation among European Eco-Schools. The Seven-Step methodology of the Eco-Schools programme is used and ITTC follows principles of the European 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): more cooperation, thinking more about other people and respecting the environment. The key challenges the project focuses on are:

• Water - Availability of drinking water, its quantity and quality, life in water

• Energy - Approach to affordably priced, secure, sustainable and modern power sources

• Sustainable towns – availability of quality and safe living and of essential services

• Sustainable society – responsible consumption and production, industry, innovation and infrastructure

• Climate changes – struggle with climate changes

• Sustainable use of land, life on land, land management and biodiversity decrease.

Outputs

• More than 1,500 students from partner schools have taken part in the first year of cooperation!

• Designed the project website, school websites, their space on the eTwinning platform, and school info-corners for the public

• Designed and had six ITTC banners and six photo-banners made

• Organised meetings with experts and specialists from other educational levels, secondary and university students, local/regional companies, town representatives and asked them for cooperation. At least one expert from each partner school has taken part in respective topics discussions

• Presented three topic methodologies, manuals, video shootings from three topics covered, i.e. sustainable water, sustainable energy and sustainable town

• Organised project meetings so far, in the Czech Republic, Latvia and Bulgaria

• Organised seminars and educational lectures for teachers and students

• Organised partner webinars and a videoconference via eTwinning

• Carried out 4 evaluative questionnaires (entry and after each meeting) as instruments for assessing the work done

• Organised open-days, project days and Eco-conferences

Outcomes

Students and teachers have chance under the ITTC umbrella to improve their working skills through experiments, measurements and data evaluation. They can improve their communication skills while working on topics within their own school and later while working on topics with their foreign friends as well as their problem-solving skills when looking for suggestions and ideas to find out answers and solutions for their partners´ tasks and collaborative learning. They both can improve their language learning strategies and increase their awareness of sustainable development and form habits and influence others, as well. Students during the meetings stay at host families so they have a great chance to get to know their culture, history and family lives as well as improve their language skills.

Teachers can improve their knowledge on covered areas, develop and improve their professional skills and qualifications with the aim to increase the effectiveness of teaching and school development in teaching Science, Maths, ICT or languages. They have chance to meet students – future teachers from foreign countries as well and share their experience.

Both students and teachers are involved in STEAM concept while working on project tasks which encourages teaching of Science and Technology, supports research-teaching style, verifies students’ pre-concepts while using modern measurement systems. Another aspect of the ITTC project is providing a wide variety of activities with the aim to increase students’ motivation in studying natural science and technical branches together with using of modern technologies in accordance with natural resources prevention and sustainable development of society of the 21st century.

• Story provided by Eva Vincenová

Increased student awareness of Climate Change through Green STEM initiative

Contact: Nicole Andreou, International Eco-Schools Coordinator -  nicole@fee.global

Copenhagen, Denmark (7 October 2019) – Through the Alcoa W5  programme supported by  Alcoa Foundation and delivered through the Eco-Schools programme, student climate change awareness levels have increased by 30% and participating students now feel confident about their knowledge on the issue.   Green STEM – looking at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math disciplines through an environmental lens – provides students with opportunities to work with real-world sustainability issues where their learnings help solve real problems by thinking critically and working together.

In the program’s third year, students from twenty-five schools are participating in hands-on actions around the themes of Waste, Water, Energy (Watts), Climate Change (Warming) and Biodiversity (Wildlife).  Eco-Schools national teams of the National Wildlife Federation in the USA, FEE Norway in Norway, and Keep Australia Beautiful in Australia provide teacher training, develop resources, and support Alcoa volunteer opportunities.

Daniel Schaffer, FEE CEO, said,

“With Alcoa Foundation’s support through this project we have been able to provide a positive action-based approach that has resulted in incredible student achievements at the community level – from increasing schools’ handprint to addressing local government about recycling management on equal footing. This project provides experiences that empower young people with skills to be active citizens who can better address the most pressing issues of our time”.

The Alcoa W5 project has led to increased biodiversity on the school grounds, energy efficiency and energy-saving initiatives, improved waste management systems and increased engagement in school communities and local governments in sustainability initiatives. Impact assessment from the last cycle of the project in 2017-2018, highlights that there has been a 58% increase of participating teachers having a better understanding of Green STEM by the end of the project cycle, which allows them to start or consistently incorporate Green STEM learning opportunities in the classroom – a remarkable achievement of the project. Learn more about the Alcoa W5 project at https://www.ecoschools.global/alcoaw5

“Eco-Schools allows students in multiple Alcoa communities around the world to learn about the important issues surrounding our environment through a unique STEM framework,”

said Alice Truscott, Senior Program Officer for Alcoa Foundation.

“Alcoa Foundation truly believes the future of sustainability relies on the education of tomorrow’s leaders, and that is one of the many reasons why we invest in this important program.”

---

About The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and Eco-Schools

With members in 77 countries, FEE is the world’s largest environmental education organisation. Through five ground breaking programmes FEE helps communities realise the benefits of sustainable living. Recognised by UNESCO as a world leader within the fields of Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainable Development.

Eco-Schools is the largest sustainable schools programme, providing a framework for Quality Education through experiential learning, sustainability leadership and the development of cognitive and non-cognitive skills. It reaches 19 million students and 1.3 teachers in over 52.000 schools in 68 countries globally.

In 2019, the Eco-Schools programme is celebrating its 25th year of engaging young people in taking positive actions that transform them for life. The programme aims to provide every child with the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape a sustainable future by integrating priority sustainable development issues and learning.

Website: http://www.ecoschools.global

Instagram/Twitter: @EcoSchoolsInt 

About the Alcoa Foundation

Alcoa Foundation’s predecessor, currently known as Legacy Alcoa Foundation (and formerly known as Alcoa Foundation), was founded in 1952 as one of the few endowed corporate foundations in the United States. As a result of the separation of Alcoa Inc. into Alcoa Corporation and Arconic Inc. in November 2016, two new foundations were formed, into which the assets of Legacy Alcoa Foundation were transferred. One of the newly formed foundations, known now as Alcoa Foundation, is the foundation associated with Alcoa Corporation. Today, Alcoa Foundation invests where Alcoa Corporation has a presence, providing grants that contribute to environmental excellence around the world, particularly in the areas of biodiversity conservation and climate change research. Learn more at alcoafoundation.com and follow @AlcoaFoundation on Twitter.

Website: http://www.alcoafoundation.com

Twitter: @AlcoaFoundation

Litter Less Campaign: The longest-running school campaign on litter continues

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Gosia Luszczek, International YRE Director
Foundation for Environmental Education
E: gosia@fee.global

---

Over 3 million students from more than 5000 schools across the world have participated in the Litter Less Campaign the past 8 years. The campaign has helped not only students, but also their teachers, parents, and local communities address the issue of litter and waste.

The Litter Less Campaign, which was launched in 2011, has just entered its fourth phase and will be implemented in 15 countries until 2021. The campaign is a joint initiative between Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and Mars Wrigley Foundation which educates children and youth on the issue of litter and gives them the opportunity to engage their local communities in awareness raising activities.  

“Providing students an opportunity to learn about the challenges of litter and waste in their community and empowering them to become leaders through the development of meaningful solutions drives sustainable, positive behavior change. The Mars Wrigley Foundation is proud to have supported millions of students around the world through the Litter Less Campaign,” says Anne Vela-Wagner, Executive Director of the Mars Wrigley Foundation.

Through the Eco-Schools and Young Reporters for the Environment programmes, students will carry out litter action plans and media campaigns which aim to tackle specific litter and waste issues. These issues will be carefully selected by the schools together with their National Operators in order to achieve the biggest and most relevant impact in their local communities.

“FEE is privileged for the funding and cooperation it has been granted by the Mars Wrigley Foundation since 2011. The funding of these two extra years are a testament to the impact we have had with the campaign to date. Litter is a form of a pollution that continues to increase as a serious global threat. The situation our oceans are facing due to plastic and micro plastic pollution are a sad example of this. Hence we believe this fourth phase is essential for our on-going efforts in educating and changing the behaviour of children, youth and adults around the world,” says Daniel Schaffer, CEO of Foundation for Environmental Education.

A campaign with a clear impact

Based on research conducted the past two years, the Litter Less Campaign has a clear positive impact on students’ knowledge, attitude and opinion leadership with respect to litter and waste management. The data shows that students who participate in the campaign know more about waste management, conserve more resources and are less likely to litter compared with students who do not participate in the campaign.

“The campaign highlight is always the enthusiasm of the children to make a difference and be given a platform to use their pupil voice concerning issues that affect them. Because of the raised awareness of Litter and its impacts around the world, especially to our oceans and wildlife, pupils have had a real purpose in their actions and messages to their school and community,” says Julie Giles, National Operator, Wales.

About the Foundation for Environmental Education

Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is the world's largest environmental education organisation with members in 77 countries. Through five ground-breaking programmes, FEE empowers people to take meaningful and purposeful action to help create a more sustainable world.

About the Mars Wrigley Foundation

The Mars Wrigley Foundation partners with organizations around the world to help people and communities flourish. Founded in 1987, the Foundation works to provide oral health education and care, improve lives in mint- and cocoa-growing regions, prevent litter and waste, and create vibrant communities.

Countries implementing the Litter Less Campaign 2019-2021

Australia, Brazil, China, England, France, India, Ireland, Kenya, Malta, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Russia, Scotland, Spain and Wales

Regional Award on Renewable energy goes to Malagasy school

Lycée Andrianampoinimerina Sabotsy Namehana in Madagascar received the Regional Award on Renewable and Efficiency Energy project!

The IOC and the Eco-Schools Network have a significant number of joint achievements in the development of educational activities, notably through the ISLANDS project. Based on these experiences, and considering the importance of the network, which brings together more than 250 schools in the five IOC Member States, the ENERGIES Programme and Indian Ocean Eco-Schools have expressed their interest in renewing their collaboration in order to better promote renewable energy among young people and put their roles in our communities of the future into perspective.

Each participating school was invited to form a team of students who were challenged to imagine a renewable energy installation project that can be useful to the school and by extension, to the entire community. The teams completed a presentation document in order to develop as much as possible their autonomy and their ability to defend their idea. This document should presented the concept, the ins and outs, the added value for the school, etc. Schools submitted their projects to the national committees, which evaluated them and chose the winning team for their country.

• 21 secondary Eco-Schools in Madagascar participated to the renewable energy  teacher training;

• 16 renewable energy projects were received and evaluated by the Eco-Schools national committee and the TELMA Foundation as a sponsor;

• The public secondary school : Lycée Andrianampoinimerina Sabotsy Namehana was selected and received the national award. Two students who acted as the project designers and 1 teacher-coach from the high school went to Mauritius on 28th August to 30th August to defend their project with the students from Mauritius, Comoros and Seychelles

The Malagasy school’s energy project received the Regional Award for the best project!

This activity provided teachers with fun and comprehensive educational material that will enabled discussion on the energy theme and enabled students to understand the challenges of renewable energy and energy efficiency. It enriched their scientific knowledge by positioning them at the heart of learning through materials that allowed everyone to take part and be involved.

SCHOOL4CITY - Education on Sustainable Cities

The School4City project, a partnership between Bureau for Education Services and EXPEDITIO - Center for Sustainable Spatial Development (NGO), Montenegro and JAS - Jugend Architektur Stadt e.V., Germany (NGO) aimed at build teachers’ capacity on Education for Sustainable Development.

This activity began in September 2016, with practical activities in the pilot school in the southern part of Montenegro, where High School Kotor has been selected as a pilot school. 
The idea was to work with students practically in order to acquaint them with the basic ideas and principles of sustainable cities and places, the problems of urban areas and the possible ways of improving the quality of life. For example, during the workshops students acquired knowledge and skills of how to design a project for improving their own places of living, evaluate a space around them, create imaginary buildings, co-design their school yard etc.

Students were encouraged to propose creative ideas which promote some of trans-disciplinary topics, such as, green cities, green roofs and facades, solar panels, renewable energy sources, landscape protection, preserving agricultural land, mobility and networking, smart houses, new building trends, etc., and some of these ideas were implemented jointly with their teachers, local artists and creative actors. The workshop was held with a group of second grade students at High School Kotor that are interested in improving the environment in which they live. During the workshop, assisted by the teachers all students in second grade were encouraging to recognize the challenges they perceive as important for improving the quality of their life in school and in their immediate surroundings. Some possible interventions were also considered that could contribute to making the school a better and more creative place for students.

During the project, the following activities took place:

• Development of guidelines through conducting a survey about the level of knowledge, understanding and application of good practices in the field of sustainable cities education in Montenegro and Germany

• Analyses of the current school curricula in Montenegro (Analysis has been completed for all three levels of education. A connection has been established between the cross-curricular topic Evaluation and Planning of Space and all school subjects.)

• Questionnaires in pilot schools and kindergartens (A questionnaire has been created, distributed to schools and completed by teachers and students.)

• Development of set of guidelines for improving the overall quality of education about sustainable cities in Montenegrin schools and kindergartens has been designed starting from the results of the analysis of questionnaires and analyses of the current school curricula

• Development of guidelines through conducting a survey about the level of knowledge, understanding and application of good practices in the field of sustainable cities education in Montenegro and Germany

The overall objective of the training is to enable teachers to implement a cross-curricular theme Evaluation and Planning of Space – Sustainable Cities and Neighborhoods. Specific objectives of the training are to improve the knowledge about space as a resource, evaluation and planning of space in terms of its sustainable development and the impact of human activity on space in relation to economic challenges and climate changes; about efficient location, organizing and combining of different types of settlements and human activities; about different types and styles of art; to increase the understanding about characteristics and principles of sustainable cities and neighborhoods (energy, waste, water, transport, green infrastructure, public spaces); about urbanization around the world, its benefits and problems, about values of well-designed buildings and spaces; to raise awareness of the impact (positive and negative) of entrepreneurship in the local community; of the importance of well-designed built environment for healthy local entrepreneurship.

OUTCOMES

• Improved level of understanding and ability to apply sustainable cities concept among the teachers and children/students in kindergartens, primary and high-schools in Montenegro;

• Increased capacities of educators in Montenegro to better integrate the urban sustainability principles into their primary subjects;

• Enhanced collaboration between Montenegrin and German stakeholders dealing with education about sustainable cities.

Learners were able to analyse climate change linkages with sustainable development (environmental, economic, socio-cultural context), explain the importance of long-term planning of resources use, energy efficiency in industry, construction sector, public sector and transport, use of renewable energy sources, clean technologies introduction and the like, analyze diverse methods/approaches to climate change mitigation, recognize risks related to climate change using specific examples in their local community and country, know about the relation of environment pollution and food quality, know the importance of food safety for human health, understand forest role in ecosystem, know the ways pollution affects forests, know about the concept of energy efficiency, understand the necessity of transitioning to renewable sources of energy, understand that sustainable energy system implies changes in generation, distribution and use of energy, understand that economic crisis reduce the opportunities of poor societies to use new technologies, identify main differences between sustainable and unsustainable tourism development, explain what waste is, how it is generated and where it ends up, give the advantages and disadvantages of incineration and recycling, explain the importance of waste as resource, present ways for reduction of quantity of waste, suggest proper attitude towards waste disposal and use of waste and propose solutions to environmental issues.

Teaching for 2030: Innovations in Teacher Education towards Education for Sustainable Development

Teaching for 2030: Multi-layering ESD and GCED for Innovations in Teacher Education towards the SDGs and ESD for 2030.

The conference organised by the UNESCO Chair in Research and Education for Sustainable Development at Okayama University, Japan and the UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability at York University, Canada, will bring together ESD and GCED experts with policy makers, teacher educators and other practitioners in education.

It will explore, discuss, and develop locally relevant strategies to systemically implement Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship Education (GCED) as called for in Sustainable Development Goal 4.7, the Global Education 2030 Agenda and other UN policies that our nations have agreed to carry out between 2020 and 2030.  The conference will be the first global meeting to recognize the goals and the designated framework entitled ‘Education for Sustainable Development: Towards achieving the SDGs (ESD for 2030)’ being launched in June 2020 in Berlin, Germany.

The conference will focus on the role of embedding ESD and GCED within formal education systems, seeking existing successful practices and identifying their potential for policy reform and other education legislations. Special interest groups will focus on aspects such as:

• Embedding ESD and GCED in elementary and secondary education,

• Online teaching approaches engaging and accessing those in remote or underserved regions,

• ESD as a potential to enhance education and training systems for Indigenous youth,

• ESD and GCED in early childhood care and education.

 The conference invites participants to submit research reports, best practice examples and ideas for poster sessions. All papers shall relate to teacher education for ESD and/or GCED. To submit a paper please send an inquiry suggesting the topic/type of your presentation including your full name, position/title, institution/organization, and contact information to the conference organizing committee by 15th September 2019:

Dr. Hiroko Shibakawa hirokoshibakawa@okayama-u.ac.jp

Ms. Itsuko Hagihara hagiwara-i@okayama-u.ac.jp

For further information on the call for papers and free registration, please see the flyer or visit http://unescochair.info.yorku.ca/conference/.