2013 Eco-school Award ceremony |11 December 2013

Eco-school programme example of environmental action learning approach

Primary and secondary schools which excelled in this year’s eco-school programme have been rewarded with  their prizes.

An award presentation ceremony was held recently at the School of Education auditorium at Mont Fleuri in the presence of Odile Octave, director for Schools; Wills Agricole, principal secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Energy; Alain de Commarmond, secretary to the Environment Trust Fund and representatives of sponsors of the various prizes awarded.

The eco-school programme, which rewards schools which have been most actively involved in environmental education throughout the year, has been in existence for more than 15 years in Seychelles schools and its theme is promoting sustainability through environmental education.

Schools enrolled on this programme are engaged in environmental learning and environmental management practices and respond to environmental issues within schools grounds and also at community and national levels.

The competition this year saw the participation of primary and secondary schools that have demonstrated good environmental practices such as school beautification and sustainable management of resources among many others.

This year the crèche category was merged with the primary category. The participating schools in the primary category in 2013 were Anse Etoile, Bel Ombre, Baie Lazare, La Retraite, Perseverance, Plaisance and Silhouette. At secondary level the participating schools were Anse Royale, Beau Vallon, English River and Praslin.

The prize-giving ceremony kicked off with a poem from Angelica of  Baie Lazare primary school entitled ‘Golden Opportunity’ where she emphasized the need for our  fauna and flora to be recognised in our environment.

In her opening remarks, Tracy Constance, a school environment representative from Plaisance secondary, said the eco-school programme is aimed at achieving sustainable environment management through schools as springboards for reaching communities.

She said it offers a flexible way of supporting environmental education processes to integrating outdoor experiences with classrooms and principles and guidelines to day to day running of schools.
 
Ms Constance continued by saying the eco-school programme is a good example of environmental action learning approach which seeks to give environmental education value to practical learning.
 
“Changing behaviour and attitude is of paramount importance here. If at an early age children are taught to do the right thing then it becomes second nature and therefore chances are that they would continue with the behaviour through adulthood,” said Ms Constance.

And this is what she hopes eco-school can instill in the young learners – an eagerness to interact with their surrounding environment in a positive way to promote sustainability.

“It’s not just about getting messages to children but also about spreading the words much wider.  A school is often the heart of a community. The attitudes and behavior emating from the schools will affect the behaviour and aesthetic of its surroundings,” she said She also noted that everything and everyone is connected to our reliance on nature and we have to understand this connection and work with rather than against the natural world.

Our new economy must be low carbon, more resources efficient and more environmentally friendly. Eco-school with its collaborative approach can help towards this end enabling the young minds to understand their roles.

Ms Constance also said eco-school helps our young minds to understand that their actions can impact negatively or positively on the environment. Schools are doing their part in ensuring that we continue to stay green and be more sustainable as a country.

She said the eco-school programme has proven to be very successful in implementing projects at school level. But she also warned that eco-school programme should not rest solely on the shoulders of school environment representatives or the eco-school committee but is integrated in the school curriculum. “We must all continue to make sure that eco-school continues to flourish,” she said.

In the primary category Award, 2nd runner-up was Silhouette school and first runner up was La Retraite school. The most outstanding school in the primary category went to Anse Etoile. The prize for this category was given by PS Agricole and Mrs Octave.

For the schools who have shown best effort, the prizes went to Baie Lazare and Perseverance primary schools. They received their prizes from Cyril Pillay, director for primary schools.

The Award for best participation category went to Plaisance and Bel Ombre primary schools. Their prize was donated by Mr Pillay.

The prize for the dedicated teacher who attended all workshops, meetings and made sure their schools are active in all eco-school activities went to Veronica Souyana. She received her prize from Rowana Walton, communications officer at the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF). She was awarded a lunch at the Banyan Tree given to her by the hotel’s general manager; a book from Seychelles Tourism Board and a trophy from SIF.

For the secondary school category, second runner-up was Praslin and first runner-up was English River.

The most outstanding school in secondary school category was Beau Vallon while Anse Royale secondary won best effort in that same category.

English River secondary received the prize for Community Spot Project – a project where a school adopt an area and maintains its cleanliness.

Winners of all categories received cash prizes, trophies, shields, digital cameras, books from the Environment Trust Fund, Ministry of Education, Seychelles Islands Foundation, the Development Bank of Seychelles, Seychelles Tourism Board, Takamaka Bay, Banyan Tree Resort, Environment Trust Fund, GIF. One school, English River secondary, won a snorkeling trip to the Ste Anne Marine National Park sponsored by the Seychelles National Parks Authority. Representatives of all these sponsors were present to give out prizes.

M. Julie