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The Mukuvisi Woodlands Eco Schools Programme - ‘My Environment, My Future, My Responsibility':
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Education plays a vital role in encouraging the sustainable lifestyles required to care for our environment. The Mukuvisi Woodlands Eco Schools Programme aims to achieve sustainable environmental management by integrating environmental education into the national curriculum and empowering teachers and learners to implement environmental policies at school level. The Eco-Schools Programme follows a model used in over 52 countries worldwide, including South Africa. To meet the challenge of environmental stewardship, capacity building is key to success. The Programme provides school children with hands-on experiences and opportunities to tackle issues and concerns in their own environments. They gain knowledge and develop a positive attitude towards solving environmental problems.Because of their hands-on and self-study components, projects in this Programme allow children to develop skills such as time management, working with people, public speaking, self-motivation, observation, recording data, and classifying and identifying issues. The programme helps foster the development of children's potential by exposing them to new situations. Children stretch their capacity to handle the world, improving their self-image, confidence and autonomy in the process. It also helps inspire children’s interest in and appreciation of their environment. They gain an awareness of burning current environmental issues such as global warming, pollution, wildlife habitat and wetland destruction and loss, deforestation, over-population and poor sanitation, and learn at a young age that these problems are everyone’s problems and that each individual can be part of their solution. This Environmental Education Programme was developed by the Mukuvisi Woodlands Education Unit as an adaptation of the Eco-Schools Programme practised globally. The Programme aims to improve environmental management at the School and facilitate active environmental learning. Schools Environmental Clubs choose a project of their choice from the list of Themes, while teachers draw on these practical projects to strengthen environmental learning at the school. The Programme is linked directly with the Plan of Action outlined in the Millennium Declaration, signed at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, which aims to deliver Agenda 21 Commitments by involving people of all ages and nationalities through formal school education, training of staff and general awareness raising. The Eco-Schools Programme is also in line with the Zimbabwe National Environmental Education Policy and Strategies (July 2004, revised June 2009). This is a Schools Development Programme designed to encourage whole-school learning and action for a healthy environment. To date, over 100 educational institutions including schools, colleges and universities, have subscribed to the Mukuvisi Woodlands Eco Schools Programme, signing up and attending one or more events organised by the Mukuvisi Woodlands or starting a Change Project at their school or both. What the Member Schools do Possible projects
Some Theme and Project Examples
At year end, the Mukuvisi Woodlands Eco Schools Programme does an evaluation of School Project Feasibility and identifies Environmental Steward Award Winners. To be considered, an Eco-Report or School Profile Report must be submitted, containing all of the following, which are the minimum requirements for Eco-Schools status. All components must be clearly labelled. Reports are assessed on the quality and depth of these sections, not only on their presence in the portfolio.
Any educational institution in Zimbabwe, including Early Learning Centres, Primary and Secondary Schools, whether public or private, and Tertiary institutions such as Teacher Training Colleges and Universities are eligible. Teachers need the background to initiate environment clubs as they enter new schools on graduation and deployment. It takes a passionate teacher to lead an environmental club. The administration must give consent and the whole school is expected to participate, including the Teacher–Parent body (SDC/SDA). Registration Form an Eco-Club Write an Eco-Code Carry out an environmental audit and choose a Theme The Club Patron, usually a teacher, liaises with Club Members to identify a problem around their theme and suggest possible solutions, to be implemented through a practical hands-on Change Project. Plan for Teaching and Learning Plan and Take Action Evaluation criteria for Best Eco Schools Club - Clubs move through these levels: Annual Assessment for Awards |
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Mukuvisi Woodlands Environmental Education Programmes:
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Starting at 9 am and ending at 3pm, several hundred school children, students, teachers, VIPs and others descended on Mukuvisi Woodlands on 21 October for the annual Eco Schools Challenge and Awards event, with the theme for this year “My Environment, My Future, My Responsibility”. The theme covers all our natural resources and areas being implemented by Eco Schools member clubs, who seek to improve people’s lives, whilst also ensuring national environmental sustainability, and caring for the Earth.
Guest of honour was the Minister for Provincial Affairs, Harare, the Honourable Mrs Mirriam Chikukwa, who gave a speech about the extremely urgent need to protect our wetlands citywide, and prevent any further destruction to them, currently being perpetrated by construction, dumping and cultivation.
She strongly urged all the relevant Authorities with the power to prevent illegal development on wetlands to ensure that the law in this regard was adhered to, and enforced. Well-known wetlands expert Professor Chris Magadza also gave a very informative speech, which included some excellent illustrations of their quantifiable financial value to us, the residents of Harare, and how much money they save us all – as long as they are left intact! Click HERE for photos of this event.
Follow this link to many photos of this event
Over 500 school children, university students, teachers, Mukuvisi Woodlands Councillors and staff and high level VIPs, turned out in force for the 2015 Mukuvisi Woodlands Eco Schools Challenge on 14 October. With the theme ‘A Healthy Environment – the Future we Want – Act NOW for Climate Justice’, this all-day event was a tremendous success on every level, and was made financially possible through the generous assistance of the European Union. Unicef provided additional sponsorship, while the French Embassy generously funded the production of 5000 booklets on Climate Change, a copy of which each participating child received, with additional copies being disturbed via the Eco Schools Programme in the year ahead. Each child at the event also received a T shirt and special branded bag.
Over 40 schools participated in the event which wrapped up a very busy, active year in the Eco Schools Programme which is run by the Mukuvisi Woodlands Environmental Education Centre, headed by Co-Ordinator Gibson Nhokwara, who organised the event, spoke at the prize-giving and made an excellent Master of Ceremonies throughout. Other Mukuvisi Woodlands speakers at prize-giving were Chairman Simon Pitt and Vice Chairman Allain Chimanikire. The Eco Schools Programme was launched by Mukuvisi Woodlands Association around six years ago, following a model that is used successfully across the globe. It is a flagship of excellent hands-on experiential environmental education in Zimbabwe.
The afternoon prize-giving celebrations were graced by the presence of their Excellencies the Ambassador of Portugal Dr Ricardo Pracana, the Ambassador of France Mr Laurent Delahousse, the Head of the EU Delegation to Zimbabwe, Phillippe van Damme, the Acting Head of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in Zimbabwe Mr Martin Ager, a representative from the Dutch Embassy, and several other high ranking French Embassy, EU and UNDP officials and Unicef representatives. The Ministries of Education, Energy and Power Development and Environment, Water and Climate were well represented at the event, along with several tertiary education institutions.
The Guest of Honour was Professor Paul Mavhima the Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education who gave an upbeat speech at the prize-giving, extolling the Eco Schools Programme for their great strides and positive impact on environmental education in Zimbabwe. EU Head Mr Phillippe van Damme also delivered an excellent speech which focussed on the challenge of climate change and the need to ensure that today’s adults and the up-coming generations as represented by the school children there present had a tremendous burden to tackle this head on, and now, for their own sake and for generations to come.
During the morning, the children were kept extremely active and busy, participating in the Primary and Secondary Eco Schools Quizzes, and exploring the Woodlands in search of clues to answer environmental quiz questions. It was a blazing hot day, and most children carried out this Treasure Hunt primarily at a run, so all were well hot and tired by lunchtime! This hunt for clues included a fun interlude navigating a Maze while being timed, constructed by the Mukuvisi Woodlands team.
On display at the event were the amazing artworks and models entered into the Eco Schools Challenge by the children, inspired by the event’s guiding theme. The quality of these works was very impressive and the VIPS clearly enjoyed seeing what the children had produced which well demonstrated their full understanding of the devastating impacts of climate change to our futures if we do not act now, and many other burning environmental issues of our day.
This art competition, plus the hunt for clues and answering of questions in the Woodlands themselves, the sit-down quiz and the school’s performance as an Eco School during the course of this year, plus its environmental networking activities, were all assessed and marked and informed the final decisions as to which were the overall Most Sustainable Schools in terms of the Programme and its guiding principles. The winning Primary School was Highlands and Secondary School was Chinhoyi High and prizes, funded by the EU, included solar power kits for the winning schools. Various other prizes were awarded for the different elements that made up the Challenge and the event ended on a very festive note. Also unveiled at the event was the winning logo design for the upcoming COP21 (communities of practice) event in Paris next month, at which 195 countries will be represented, to discuss and agree upon the United Nations Framework on Climate Change. The winning logo was designed by Tawanda Mhlanga of Chinhoyi University, who attended the event and received his award, delightedly shaking hands with the VIPs present.
2015 Mukuvisi Woodlands Eco Challenge Prize Winners |
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Place |
Primary School | Secondary School |
The Eco Challenge Quiz |
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1 |
Twin Lakes Primary | Highfield 1 High |
2 |
Chivhu Primary | Mandedza High School |
3 |
Highlands Primary | Visitation Makumbi |
The Treasure Hunt |
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1 |
Twin Lakes Primary | Highfield 1 High |
2 |
Chivhu Primary | Mufakose 2 High |
3 |
Ardbennie Primary | Lord Malvern Secondary |
| The Art Competition | The Model Competition | |
1 |
Chiremba Primary | Chinhoyi High School |
2 |
The French School Harare | ZRP High |
3 |
Ardbennie Primary | Zengeza 1 High |
The Overall Most Sustainable Schools |
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1 |
Highlands Primary | Chinhoyi High School |
2 |
Chiremba Primary | Highfield 1 High |
3 |
Chivhu Primary | ZRP High |
