Sixty primary schools across four provinces have been selected for an innovative environment management initiative of the North-West University’s (NWU) Potchefstroom Campus, in partnership with the Free University in Brussels.
The project is modeled on a system already in use in Belgium and aims at getting schools to implement an environment management system so that learners and teachers can manage the school’s water, energy, gardens, waste and other resources in a responsible manner.
Dr. Schalk Raath, coordinator of the project, told the Teacher the initiative allows the selected schools to integrate the environment with the curriculum being used in their schools.
“It’s a whole-school approach. We want the learners to be aware of their environment and the benefits attached to a well-managed environmental policy,” explains Raath.
The project team will provide a step-by-step guideline in the form of a book which can be used to plan, organise and communicate the management system. The book also deals with integrated environmental learning activities that teachers can use.
“Since the programme is based on the system used with much success in Belgium, we had to alter it slightly to suit the South African context.”
Participating schools have already been identified in Limpopo and Gauteng, and schools in North-West and Free State will be selected before the project’s first workshop in July 2009.