A project that aims to educate high school learners about the benefits of green living by measuring their impact on the environment is being rolled out in Cape Town schools.
The Green Room Audit consists of a learners’ information and activities booklet, an educator’s guide, audit and smart living activity sheets.
Eight schools with existing eco-groups were selected to participate in the pilot phase, which has been running for just two months.
The project is a partnership between the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Marine Research Institute (MA-RE), the African Centre for Climate & Earth System Science (ACCESS) and the City of Cape Town. UCT’s Centre for Criminology, the Embassy of Finland-SA and private company Steadfast Greening are also involved in the initiative.
“The main thrust of the toolkit is sustainable living; which is explored through the themes of water, waste, energy and biodiversity,” says Pravs Pillay of MA-RE.
“The learners’ booklet teaches learners, in a practical manner with educator guidance, what a green audit is, how to audit their schools and how to calculate their school’s carbon footprint.”
Pillay says they looked at national science, life orientation, language and other curricula and ensured that both the learners and teachers guide was curriculum- relevant so that the toolkit could be integrated into the schools’ lesson plans.
Once the learners complete a green audit of their schools and note their carbon Footprint ,a comprehensive sustainability plan is drawn up. After six months the twin schools with the best plan wiil be rewarded with an upgrade of their schools’ facilities with the aim of reducing their impact on the environment.
“The project is many-fold”, says Pillay. “Not only does it teach learners about the planet, but it also sensitizes them and makes them aware of the knock-on effects of their actions or non-actions in the global ecosystem.”