BREEF Hosts Eco-Schools Workshop to Support Environmental Leaders Around the Country

Sat, Oct 13th 2018, 12:00 PM

Country BREEF hosted its annual Eco-Schools Coordinators Workshop on Friday, October 5, 2018, at the New Providence Community Centre, Blake Road.

During the one-day workshop twenty-five participants from Abaco, Cat Island, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, Exuma, and New Providence celebrated their students’ environmental achievements, examined current challenges and charted the way forward for new environmental actions and engaging activities for the Eco-Schools Bahamas Programme.

By placing rocks in the back of the toilet tanks, Every Child Count in Abaco decreased its water bill by 27.7% since January of this year.

St. Andrew International School, New Providence installed a wind turbine on top of the library. It supplies electrical energy for charging students’ cell phones.

In addition to printing and distributing 3,000 “Lutra Bags” reusable shopping bags, Deep Creek Middle School installed Solar-powered A/C units at their school in Eleuthera.

Hopetown Primary School, Abaco created a “Give Back Garden” with the assistance of the community.

They also have a donation box in the garden and invite the community, and tourists visiting to come by and get whatever greens they want for whatever donation they were comfortable with. 

Students split what they make and give half to charitable organizations and use the other half to sustain their garden.

cer at Ministry of Environment and Housing attended the workshop and gave a presentation on The Bahamas Government’s 2020 Single Use Plastic and Styrofoam Ban Initiative.

Ms. Ferguson stated in her presentation that, “ "Actively engaging schools and students throughout The Bahamas is critical if we are seriously going to address issues such as littering, marine pollution and waste reduction.

The Ministry is delighted to work with BREEF, who has a longstanding commitment to educating the Bahamian public on various issues surrounding the protection and conservation of our marine environment.

The proposed ban on select plastics and Styrofoam products provides an opportunity for the Ministry to support BREEF's Eco-Schools Programme and shared education goals surrounding waste management and sustainable consumption."

Eco-Schools students from around the country have already been leading the way in demonstrating how to reduce their single-use plastic consumption.

Eco-Schools is the largest sustainable school programme in the world, operating in over sixty-eight countries around the world and BREEF has been running Eco-Schools in The Bahamas since 2009. Eco-Schools Bahamas is part of an international award programme developed in 1994 by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).

Through a simple, seven-step process Eco-Schools empowers children living in diverse communities and islands around the world to take action for the environment, by engaging them in fun, action-oriented learning, and community outreach activities.

Our Bahamian network consists of over 20 schools, with nine Green Flag schools; Deep Creek Middle School (Eleuthera), Hope Town Primary School, Forest Heights Academy, Man-O-War Cay Primary School, and Every Child Counts (Abaco), St. Andrews International School, Lyford Cay International School and Temple Christian School (New Providence), Bishop Michael Eldon School (Grand Bahama) and two Silver Awards schools.

Abaco has the highest number of Green Flags Schools per capita in the Eco-Schools Bahamas Programme.

“Very excited to be a part of such a great organization,” stated Beth Hall, Eco-Schools Coordinator at St. Andrew’s International School.

According to Erin Cordes, Eco-Schools Coordinator at Lucaya International School, Freeport, Grand Bahama, “I thought the workshop was excellent, led by knowledgeable people and a great place to network with like-minded individuals.”

BREEF is very proud of the continued commitment of Eco-Schools coordinators, partners, and volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure that environmental stewardship becomes an integral part of every school’s culture.

BREEF Education Coordinator Kevin Glinton stated, “We would like to commend Ms. Kendria Ferguson and all of our workshop participants for sacrificing their time, talents and resources in making today’s workshop a great success.” Schools interested in joining the Eco-Schools Bahamas programme can contact BREEF at 327-9000 or email: ecoschoolsbahamas@breef.org

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