Parktown Girls pupils design environmentally responsible ecobenches

Grade 11 learners at Parktown High School for Girls were tasked with designing an ecobench as part of their life orientation curriculum addressing environmental responsibility.

Each learner in the class designed an ecobrick which was used to build the class ecobench, reports Rosebank Killarney Gazette.

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“The bricks are not as easy to make as they seem. It requires some technique and quite a bit of effort to pack the bottles with plastic to make them sturdy,” head of Life Orientation Janine Hayter explained.

An Early Childhood Development Centre in Cape Town is currently being made almost entirely out of ecobricks. Image: Ecobrick Exchange website

“The learners were able to appreciate the impact on the environment when they saw first-hand how much non-biodegradable plastic could go into a brick. Other than learning about various aspects of being environmentally responsible, they learnt the value of teamwork, communication, being creative and persistent, while maintaining a sense of humour,” said Hayter.

She said some of the learners are excited to take this project further.

If any community members would like to contribute to ongoing projects where learners can build a permanent structure using ecobricks, they can recycle non-biodegradable plastic into two litre plastic bottles by following the instructions at www.ecobrickexchange.org

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