PINETOWN school, Birches Eco-School, has won three top awards this year, the latest being the Eco-Logic award in the youth category of The Enviropaedia awards held in conjunction with SABC 3.
They have also won the Saville Foundation award and The International School Enterprise Challenge for entrepreneurship.
The Eco-Logic awards recognise and reward those individuals, communities and municipalities who are making a significant contribution toward creating an ecologically sustainable society and environment.
Principal of the school, Scilla Edmonds, said: “Struggling financially over the years, the school made a determined effort to become environmentally self-sustainable.
“It has taken 20 years but in an exercise done recently in Grade R, the pupils are convinced that they could live on the premises as if it were an island and live sustainably there for the rest of their lives.
“The school started with an extensive recycling programme, the proceeds of which have funded books and the ‘Greening’ of the school over the years. There are a number of recycling stations around the campus.
“At the entrance of the school the children collect a number of articles including computer cartridges, polystyrene trays, toilet rolls, cereal boxes, purity bottles, plastic bottles, bottle tops, bread tags, magazines, newspaper and cans as well as kitchen waste such as vegetable peels for the worm farm. Much of this waste is used for craft activities and then recycled formally.
“In the car park there is a formal centre where people from the community can drive in and recycle glass, paper and cans.
“Compost heaps are situated around the school to collect green or brown waste to be used on our gardens. One such heap collects hay from the nesting boxes and manure from our school chickens.
“A lovely mural has been created using recycled materials to illustrate the need for said Edmonds.
The school has become a example of a Green Campus for visitors.
Three permaculture courses per term are currently been run on Saturday mornings for parents, teachers, and community groups.
” It has also been used for a diet and nutrition group, municipal group training, youth groups and as a staff enrichment course for the South African Sugar Research Institute (SASRI) who wanted their staff to see bio-control happening in simple ways they could use at home,” said Edmonds.
People can also visit the school’s website www.thebirchespp.co.za to learn more about the school recycling projects.
