Project Stars: A sustainable School Project in Goa

INTRODUCTION

The vision of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is of a world in which everyone has the opportunity to benefit from quality education and learn the values, behaviors, and lifestyles required for a sustainable future. It calls for sustainable development to be integrated into the curriculum in a holistic manner, rather than being taught on a stand-alone basis. Sustainable schools encapsulate all these principles through the adoption of 3CS; i.e improving campus efficiency, integrating ESD into the curriculum and developing community partnerships in order to strive towards sustainablity.

Project STARs is a pioneering ESD project in the state of Goa that explores the principles of sustainable development through the adoption of the 3C sustainable school concept. It is a three year project (2013-2016) that is being jointly implemented by the Dempo Group of Companies and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) across 10 schools in Goa.

Project 'STARs' seeks to inspire and encourage schools to practice the principles of sustainability by focusing on its environmental and socio-cultural performance. The project aims to:

• Promote resource efficiency in schools by putting identified interventions in place within their campuses.

• Build skill sets of students to help them deal with the various environmental challenges they are faced with on a daily basis.

• Motivate and encourage schools to involve their immediate communities so as to address socio-environmental issues of concern in their neighbourhoods.

• Promote the importance of valuing and preserving local culture and knowledge in the context of sustainable development.

• Disseminate knowledge on key sustainability issues in the region.

Baseline assessments carried out at the start of the project revealed certain gaps that required to be addressed in the ten project schools. To improve the environmental sustainability of the schools, the project intervened at four schools with paper recycling plants in order to help them deal with their waste paper efficiently. In another four schools, it replaced their conventional lighting systems with LED (Light Emitting Diodes) fixtures in order to improve their energy efficiency. At one school, a composting station has been built to help the school deal with its organic waste efficiently, while in another school, a sanitation facility was built so as to provide its students with a sustainable and healthy learning environment.

To operationalize these facilities and to ensure successful functioning, various workshops were conducted through the project. Awareness and training workshops on environmental auditing, paper recycling, natural resource conservation, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), composting etc. were conducted for the project schools. Field visits have also been organized to sensitize students to the local flora and fauna of the state. So as to complement the curriculum; Information, Education and Communication (IEC) material has been provided to all project schools. In order to enhance the teaching competencies, training workshops were organized for teachers on becoming better educators. Student workshops were also held on value and character education which is integral to ESD.

In addition, schools have taken the initiative to pro-actively engage their surrounding communities by executing various socio-environmental campaigns in their neighborhoods. They have also undertaken the documentation of their locality in terms of its history and cultural significance. This exercise has directly contributed to the sensitization, awareness and education about local culture and traditions which unfortunately, is stealthily on the decline in today’s day and age.

Project STARs has indeed been successful in its mission which was to improve environmental and socio-cultural sustainability in schools by focusing on the '3C Sustainable School' concept. It is hoped that the other schools in Goa also follow suit and become sustainable school role models for the state of Goa.

BECOME A SUSTAINABLE SCHOOL

• Reduce energy and water consumption. Recycle waste water, where possible.

• Reduce waste generation. Segregate, recycle and compost as much waste as you can.

• Increase green cover in schools by focusing on local species.

• Adopt sustainable means of transport such as walking, biking, carpooling, public transport, whenever possible.

• Involve and engage your neighborhood in all pertinent issues affecting the local community.

• Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) needs to be integrated into the school curriculum. Locale-specific issues (socio-cultural and environmental) especially need to be woven into the various subjects to provide students with examples that they can easily relate to.

GREENING GROUNDS

• Have a clear vision and purpose for greening the school premises.

• Determine how the current space is being used and how it should be used in the future.

• Create a design that integrates the ecological, social and cultural aspects.

• Include all stakeholders: students, teachers, maintenance staff, management and surrounding community in the decision-making process.

• Conduct simple soil tests to determine soil texture, moisture, and pH level.

• Plant native plants that require less water.

• Develop a workable operation and maintenance plan.

DID YOU KNOW?

Recycling 1 ton of paper saves around 682.5 gallons of oil, 26,500 liters of water and 17 trees.