YELLOWWOOD Park Primary School (YWPPS) has been awarded a silver Eco School award by the Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa.
The school achieved a bronze certificate last year.
YWPPS is a registered eco school and it has a conservancy club that’s been running for 15 years. The club together with the pupils at the school participate in various projects. The school has a vegetable garden and they have also adopted Red Bishop Pond in Yellowwood Park and help keep the area clean. Pupils also take part in national environmental days such as Arbour Week by planting trees as well as the coastal clean-up in September.
The eco schools programme is an international programme of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). The Eco Schools programme is run by Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa (Wessa) in South Africa.
Charissa Jaganath is Wessa’s Eco-Schools project manager in KZN. “One of our Eco-Schools that have reflected tremendous dedication to their environmental management and learning over the past two years, Yellowwood Park Primary thrilled us again in 2014 with their outstanding Eco-Schools portfolio,” said Jaganath
To qualify for their Silver Award, schools have to show evidence of action and learning around at least two Eco-Schools themes, the themes being resource use, nature and biodiversity, local and global issues, healthy living and community and heritage. Schools also have to show evidence of their eco-committee, consisting of learners and educators; their eco-code that they are striving to achieve; and their eco-audit, which they conduct twice a year to monitor their progress. This is the standard followed by eco-schools in more than 59 countries around the world. This year, YWPPS will be eligible for their eco-schools Green Flag.
Samantha Vermaak is the co-ordinator of the school’s conservancy club. “The club is an opportunity to create awareness that the earth is precious. It teaches children to take care of their resources. It’s a way for children to get actively involved in the environment and gain knowledge and pass it on. Pupils are enthusiastic about the programme,” she said.
