Students of Everest English School no longer see any material as waste. “No materials are waste until they are ignored as trash by human beings,” says Pranisha Bajracharya, one of the students enrolled in a Best from Waste project activity under British Council's International School Award programme.
“We linked this project with student’s curriculum of Occupation Business and Technology Education (OBTE) and assigned practical marks to motivate students to complete their project work. We wanted to impart students with the knowledge of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (three Rs) concept to make them able to differentiate between biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste, and encourage them to create worthy items out of trash. The project went really well,” says Sangeeta Kibachhen, School Project Coordinator.
The school’s DIY (Do It Yourself) project not only involved the participation of students from primary to secondary level but also equally engaged the teachers and the parents. “In school, our teachers helped students with proper instruction and ideas on the project, whereas the parents at home supported their children in making their project successful. We assigned the project to students as their winter-break assignment and asked them to use non-biodegradable wastes as resources to develop something creative”, adds Sangeeta.
“On the first day of school after the vacation, every student brought their creativity along. The conversion of waste materials into re-usable items and artwork were extraordinary. I could not believe my eyes,” says Bhakta Raj Bhandari, School Principal.
“Our project was engaging. It not just helped students explore their creativity, but also impel them to think critically and plan to execute their work. Such activities are important to develop interpersonal skills and intellectuals of students,” adds the School Principal.
To keep the students motivated and appreciate their hard work, the school conducted the Best from the Waste exhibition on its School Anniversary Day. They selected ten best artwork based on the criteria they had set and exhibited the masterpieces on the school day. In addition to that, the students involved in the project also had an opportunity to share their DIY project with two different schools from the South Asia.
The Everest English School has been implementing this project as its regular academic exhibition programme for almost 10 years now. It has included the project in its academic calendar as well.
“We chose this project to include in ISA action plan because we wanted to link it with an international dimension and share our initiation with other schools. Looking ahead, we plan to conduct projects like this in public or private partnership and organize a joint exhibition with a motto of Reduce, Recycle and Reuse,” says the School Principal.