ECOLINT GOES GREEN CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLOBAL WARMING ARE WORRYING TRENDS FOR MOST OF US. AT ECOLINT, STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS ARE PARTICIPATING IN NUMEROUS AND VARIED PROJECTS THAT PREPARE THEM TO FACE THE EMERGING CHALLENGES. TANIA GENTET-GANOSE GIVES US AN INSIDER’S VIEW INTO THESE PROJECTS.
An integral part of students’ learning at Ecolint involves participation in concrete projects to develop a sense of social responsibility, helping them engage with the challenges of their times. Among the most urgent is the protection of the environment and climate change, a controversial topic for many across the globe. But in line with Ecolint’s guiding principle of recognising, and addressing, the importance of such global issues, and given students’ dedication to making their world a better place, environmentally-friendly initiatives have gained traction on each of our three campuses. Eco-Héros à Pregny Au Centre de la petite enfance de Pregny, une véritable cohorte d’Eco-Héros est en formation dans chacune des classes. Les Eco-Héros, ce sont les élèves eux-mêmes qui, enthousiasmés par l’initiative EcoSchools, ont souhaité s’engager dans la protection de l’environnement. Prêts à sacrifier leurs récrés pour participer au projet, il faut dire que ce ne sont pas des héros pour rien. Leurs motivations ? L’amour des animaux, de la planète, de la forêt, de la nature, mais aussi le côté ludique et stimulant de se dédier à une bonne cause. Ainsi, durant la dernière année académique, ces héros ont mené une véritable campagne de réduction de déchets sur leur campus. Calculant la quantité de gaspillage par la collecte et le pesage de tous les déchets de Pregny sur une période d’une semaine, ils ont pu établir un diagnostic qui a servi à mettre en place des Eco-Actions que tout le campus a pu adopter afin d’aider dans la
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préservation de l’environnement : recycler et éviter à tout prix le gaspillage de l’eau, des aliments et du papier. Becoming the world’s first No Single Use Plastic campus At La Châtaigneraie, plastic has become public enemy number one, with a No Single Use Plastic (SUP) initiative being led on the campus. “In a world where marine life is suffering from the impact of plastics on the ocean and where plastic particles have found their way into both our drinking water and our food chain, we are convinced that we must educate our students on the importance of sustainable habits,” says Jan Dijkstra, a Maths teacher and the campus sustainability coordinator. With a background in engineering and a lifelong dedication to sustainability, Jan is always on the lookout for practical answers to global issues. The starting point was Green Week, which rapidly gained momentum at La Châtaigneraie. Since last April, the campus community has been auditing its own use of SUP with the aim of becoming one of the world’s first No Plastic campuses by April 2018. Bicycle Empowerment Network But beyond raising awareness and waging war on plastic, Jan has also teamed up with students and parents to build a project with the Bicycle Empowerment Network (BEN) in South Africa. Used bicycles are collected at La Châtaigneraie and then shipped to South Africa, where local people can buy them using micro-loans. Locals are trained as bike mechanics,
enabling the sustainable repair and reuse of broken parts and allowing these individuals to become independent entrepreneurs in the process. Low-cost bikes are also being made available to young people and school-age children who, having to walk long distances to get water, cannot go to school. These bicycles help them save time and do both. Consommation et environnement En parallèle, l’école primaire de La Grande Boissière travaille régulièrement aux côtés de l’association «J’aime ma planète» pour sensibiliser les élèves aux enjeux environnementaux. Au cours de la dernière année académique, les élèves ont exploré la question de l’alimentation à l’aide d’une série d’ateliers sur l’impact environnemental, économique et social de la production alimentaire. A l’occasion d’un atelier de dégustation de pommes, ils ont pu découvrir la grande variété de fruits et légumes produits localement, en apprenant plus sur les produits saisonniers, l’agriculture biologique et le commerce équitable, dans le but de les encourager à devenir des consommateurs respectueux de l’environnement. De même, ils ont visité une exposition de photos dévoilant la consommation alimentaire sur une semaine dans des familles à travers le monde, pouvant ainsi comparer les variétés et les quantités de nourriture auxquelles les gens ont accès. A driving force in protecting the environment Living in Switzerland, where the effects of climate change are less evident than elsewhere, we must never forget that “our role as educators is to guide our students to become global citizens,” concludes Jan. With Switzerland becoming an official party to the Paris Agreement on climate change as of November 2017, Ecolint is all the more dedicated to following its host country’s lead by preparing students to be a driving force in protecting their environment and adopting healthy and sustainable lifestyles.
N°21 | autumn / aut omne 2017