Green in Action Honorary Mention
Knez Sima Markovic Elementary School
Barajevo, Serbia
One of the biggest ecological problems in Serbia is inadequate waste treatment. Municipal waste is disposed of, mainly, on the dump, and there is a huge number of illegal dump because of conscienceless citizens. It is estimated that each year in the country produces about 2.2 million tons of waste. Landfills also grow in height and width and depth. That's reason enough to imagine and to be worried. Therefore we decided that our theme during the Green Week would be Waste Reduction Challenge.During the Green Week, from April 15th to 19th April 2013, pupils were very active, dedicated and creative. They investigated, surfing the internet, visited the library and looked for the appropriate literature. They were reading books, watching documentaries, discussed. They also created plan of activities, created a PowerPoint presentation on "Waste Management". And then they started to work on the problem.Before Green Week, the pupils have measured daily weight of trash collected in the classroom. Measured is 1020 grams, and during the week (snacks without waste), only 100 grams. We came to the conclusion that on an annual basis, with this simple behavior we would reduce the waste up to 165 600 grams!
Monday: Movie “Responsible shopping” filmed at the supermarket and at the green market with the message – We should buy only what is the best for us and for our planet!
Tuesday: Realized Eco Workshop: Let's recycle soap.
Wednesday: Just say NO to plastic bags! Specific consumer culture in our country leads to uncontrolled spending and throwing plastic bags. That is why this day was dedicated to them. We made clothes, jewelry, purses, backpacks, hats ... from plastic bags and we organized a fashion show, "Trash, fashion and nature." Then we organized an eco-workshop: Recycling old clothes - sewing bags and club of exchanges. Why? With the exchange we save money, but more importantly, we are helping the environment because making, packaging, transport and disposal of everything we buy includes energy, water and waste.
Thursday: We took care about flowers in the classroom and schoolyard. We made our little edible garden and planted plants in eggshells and old boots.
Friday: We made ecological toys from discarded objects and we founded a green band. We recycled, and sang. In that way we reduced waste, saved resources and took care of our planet.
We organized the collection of recyclable waste (waste paper, cardboard, PET bottles, bottle caps, electrical and electronic waste, aluminum cans). We often organize the cleaning of waste from nature. We participated in the preparation of Local waste management plan in municipality of Barajevo, and now we are expected to implement it. We will develop public awareness about the importance of waste management. On local radio station, once a week, we will make the program "Education for survival." Children eagerly await new activities and projects (composting, making the hanging gardens, making the critical points of the environment in our place), in cooperation with the President of Barajevo will educate our friends from other schools and preschoolers. Our behavior can contribute to saving valuable resources of the planet!This school year, we recycled plastic bottles and made a piggy bank.
Environmental project "Help the birds of our area," we have implemented in order to help the resident birds during winter, to focus public attention on the problems of the protection of species and habitats of birds and other wildlife, to promote bird watching as a hobby, educate our citizens, especially young.
We promote healthy eating in school, so we implemented a workshop "We eat healthy, homemade and fresh food".