Eco-Schools is an international programme of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that aims to “empower students to be the change our sustainable world needs by engaging them in fun, action-orientated, and socially responsible learning.”[1][2]
Each school follows a seven step change process and aims to “empowers young people to lead processes and actions wherever they can.”
Over time and through commitment to the Eco-Schools Seven Step process, improvements will be seen in both the learning outcomes, attitude, and behaviour of students and the local community, and ultimately the local environment. Evidence of success in these areas will eventually lead to a school being awarded with the International Green Flag.
The Eco-Schools programme extends from kindergartens to universities and is implemented in 67 countries, involving 51,000 schools and institutions, and over 19,000,000 students. It is the largest international network of teachers and students in the world.[3] FEE EcoCampus is the name of the programme at university level.
Eco-Schools was launched in 1994 in Denmark, Germany, Greece and the United Kingdom with the support of the European Commission. When the Foundation for Environmental Education became global in 2001, countries outside of Europe began joining the Eco-Schools programme as well. South Africa was the first country to do so.
England, Germany, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales
1994
Greece, Turkey
1995
Bulgaria, Cyprus, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden
1996
Ireland
1997
Croatia, Finland, Italy, Norway
1998
Romania
1999
Iceland, South Africa
2001
Malta, Russia
2002
Kenya, Latvia, Netherlands, South Africa
2003
Lithuania, Slovakia
2004
Czech Republic, France, Poland, Canada
2005
Kazakhstan, Morocco, Puerto Rico
2006
FYR Macedonia
2007
Belgium-Flanders, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Japan
2008
Bahamas, China, Jordan, Uganda, USA
2009
Iran
2010
Malaysia, Mongolia
2011
Mexico, Serbia, United Arab Emirates
2012
Singapore
2013
Australia, Bermuda, Ghana, India
2014
Indian Ocean States
2015
Belgium-Wallonia, Estonia, Montenegro, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Ukraine, US Virgin Islands
2016
Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, South Korea, Zanzibar
2017
Methodology
Eco-Schools in South Africa
The International Eco-Schools Programme takes a holistic, participatory approach to learning for sustainability. The aim of the programme is to engage students through classroom study, school and community action to raise awareness of sustainable development issues.[5][6] It encourages students and teachers to conduct research on the amount of waste, energy or water use at their school and work towards making it a more sustainable environment.[7] Eco-Schools provides an integrated system for the environmental management of schools and involve all stakeholders in this process.[8]
The whole schools approach embedded in the Eco-Schools programme emphasizes the importance of an ongoing focus on the issues linked to environmental, climate, and sustainability issues.[9]
The programme's methodology consists of Seven Steps[10][11] that the school needs to adopt:
Step 1 Establishment of the Eco-Schools Committee Step 2 Environmental review Step 3 Action Plan Step 4 Monitoring and Evaluation Step 5 Curriculum Linking Step 6 Informing and involving the wider community Step 7 Eco Code
Schools are encouraged to work on eleven Themes,[12] which are as follows: Biodiversity & Nature, Climate Change, Energy, Global Citizenship, Health & Wellbeing, Litter, Marine and Coast, School Grounds, Transport, Waste, and Water.
Participation and awards
Any school may participate in the scheme by registering with the FEE member organisation in their country. Once registered, each school must review and improve their impact on the environment, and in recognition of their commitment and progress, they can then apply for an award.
Successful Eco-Schools are awarded the International Green Flag, an internationally acknowledged symbol for environmental excellence. In some countries, this recognition happens through a three level system, where schools are awarded either bronze and silver awards before receiving the International Green Flag.
There is flexibility to the ceremony and awarding process but the criteria for assessing schools for the award must follow the guidelines of FEE's International Eco-Schools programme.
Process
To qualify for an award the school must follow the following programme:
Register – usually done by an adult (teacher or parent).
Eco-Schools Committee – a group of pupils and adults – some elected by their peers are assembled to manage the process.
Environmental Review – the Eco-Schools Committee must organise the school to carry out a review of the school's energy and water usage, waste production and state of the school grounds with respect to litter.
Action Plan – formed from issues identified by the review
Eco Code – the Eco-Schools Committee, with the participation of the whole school must develop a mission statement to be prominently advertised inside and outside the school.
Link to Curriculum and Take Action – demonstrable progress must be made in three areas of the curriculum and involve as much of the school as possible.
Monitor and Review – the Eco-Schools Committee must record and analyse the progress made
After these processes are complete, the school can apply for one of the awards mentioned above, ultimately dependent on the level of environmental progress made.
FEE EcoCampus
The FEE EcoCampus[13] programme is an evolution of the Eco-Schools programme. It targets students in third-level education in various countries and is implemented in the same way as Eco-Schools. The only real difference is that students devise an Eco Charter instead of an Eco Code.
This Charter is a document which is a guide to environmental management on site.
EcoCampus began in Russia in 2003 and the first whole institution Green Flags were awarded in Ireland in 2010, to University College Cork.[14]
Eco-Schools compensates for their CO2 emissions from their flight travels when they go to, for example, conferences and National Operator Meetings through the Global Forest Fund. FEE has established the Global Forest Fund to help minimise the effects of CO2 emissions from the increased travel activity worldwide. The Fund supports schools and organisations by funding CO2 compensation efforts such as planting trees and environmental education activities.[15]
FEE is an international umbrella organisation with members in 76 countries worldwide.
Research
Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Peter Van Petegem (2017). Eco-school evaluation beyond labels: the impact of environmental policy, didactics and nature at school on student outcomes, Environmental Education Research, DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2017.1307327
HGSE Global Education Innovation Initiative Book 3: Case Studies from 50 Global Examples of Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century. Sowing the Seeds for an Ecologically Conscious Society: Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) by Ashim Shanker and Connie K. Chung
Sibel Ozsoy, Hamide Ertepinar and Necdet Saglam (2012). Can eco-schools improve elementary school students’ environmental literacy levels? in Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 13, Issue 2, Article 3
References
^"Eco Schools". Ecoschools.global. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
