The GSWMA’s Environmentally Friendly Schools Initiative is centered on fostering positive attitudes towards good solid waste management practices at an early age. This initiative helps students grow with an attitude of ownership and appreciation for the environment and encourages an understanding of how our own actions can negatively or positively impact our lives.
This project has been ongoing since 2001 however with the novel Corona Virus emerging in 2019, there was significant disruptions in the way populations around the world interacted, bringing about restrictions which hindered free movement and the way we go about life generally. Due to some of these restrictions, the Authority was forced to place the initiative on hold.
The Authority has been pleased in 2023, with permission from the Ministry of Education to re-launch the Environmentally Friendly Schools Initiative.
Minister responsible for Climate resilience, renewable Energy and the Environment, Hon Kerryne Z james on the occasion of World Water Day, March 22nd re-launch the EFSI with a message delivered at an Open Day event for students held at the Perseverance landfill.
In her virtual presentation the minister noted the importance of encouraging students to have a sound appreciation for the environment from an early age so that they will not just put such appreciation into practice but that such practices will be instilled as lifelong habits.
The EFSI is designed to encourage student involvement in projects such as community adoptions, inhouse and public education, waste separation and diversion, recycling, composting, tourism based initiatives, PTA and community support, coastal/eco-system protection initiatives, field trips/engagements and property enhancement among other areas.
Participating schools are assessed at the end of each year to determine school population involvement in the various components of the project and are awarded gold, silver and bronze status awards based on a point system. The initiative is open to pre-primary, primary and secondary schools.
These competitions, along with the GSWMA’s other school programs will give students an opportunity to win prizes for themselves and their schools while also playing a critical role in helping to develop lifestyle habits which they will nurture throughout their lives and bring about the change we believe will encourage appreciation for the environment.
