The Process
The ECO-School process revolves around identifying problems and solutions collaboratively.
The world always says the children are the leaders of tomorrow, and we think it is a wise starting point to take that saying seriously.
Students are the driving force behind the ECO-Schools Programme - this initiative offers them their first taste of management, with all the challenges that it brings. However, it is the role of the teacher which will form a critical link in this process. The teacher's role is to not only inspire the students to action, but also facilitate them in the process.
We want to see the students empowered to use their teachers as mentors and advisors while planning on how they want the school to improve through the various ECO-initiatives and environmental projects which they then carry out. It is this sense of ownership over their planned actions which this programme wants to encourage.
By forming an action team made up of students, teachers and potentially also parents, their plans will be translated into real, practical solutions.
It is the Action Team’s responsibility to identify opportunities to improve, reduce or develop the schools environmental awareness. With the support of teachers and the school staff, students have to come up with a project plan, once this framework is in place, the next level of recognition is attained by turning words into action.
As members of an Action Team, their task is to:
- Identify an area in the school that they want to improve
- Make a plan that will involve the whole school and submit it to us for approval
- Once they have approval, implement the plan
- Record the changes with pictures, statistics, any evidence they can get
- Report back any changes, and submit all their evidence to us through the website
- We will review their project and award them the appropriate ECO-Star