Schools create art from waste

Seven schools were selected to participate in the pilot for the greenest schools programme. The seven schools chosen have a group called the Eco Club, which focuses on different awareness activities in the city. The objective of the group is to inspire, support and empower unemployed youth to actively take part in environment issues that push methods of sustainability. All schools based in Johannesburg were expected to conduct internal competitions, presenting designs of the art they wanted to create with waste, and describe climate change challenges faced by the city. Participants were judged on the type of waste they used, aesthetics, complicity of the art, and the creativity behind the artwork. Fourteen Johannesburg schools demonstrated their individual actions by creating an awareness campaign for the city’s Schools’ Climate Proofing project. The purpose of the competition was to increase climate adaptation awareness in schools. The project aims to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and it also focuses on providing schools with a platform where educators and learners can portray their schools as green institutions, offering a transformed infrastructure and learning curriculum. The project asks the youth to take part in initiatives such as creating renewable energy, food gardens and collecting rainwater. The city expressed that social actions in schools are required to achieve sustainable and innovative ways to curb climate change impact, as well as education, capacity building and communication to help with achieving this goal.

Details: www.wessa.org.za