MY CAPSTONE PROJECT FOR GLOBAL ENCOUNTERS 2014
PANTOUM POETRY
ENVIRONMENTAL
EDUCATION= AWARENESS AND RESPONSIBILITY?
When
I saw the litter on the streets,
I
was devastated
No
one cared about Nairobi
And
its beauty
I
was devastated
That
the environment was given no importance
I
assumed
That
there was a lack of environmental education
I
assumed
That
schools did not have environmental education in their curriculums
But
when I first visited our community partner site
I
realised the opposite is true
But
when I first visited our community partner site
I
saw environmental education painted outside
I
thought to myself,
Do
they really teach the kids what they claim to teach?
I
thought to myself
If
environmental education is actually taught,
What
effect does it have
On
the school?
If
environmental education is actually taught
It
must have an impact.
I
wanted to investigate
If
it makes the children at Garden more environmentally responsible.
It
must have an impact on
Their
environment
On
their surroundings
On
their lives
Their
environment-
Where
they live
Value
for the environment is very important
Just
like the AKDN values the environment
Where
they live
Their
founder/ father
Values
the environment very much
And
treats environmental education as an integral part of the school
Their
founder/father-
A
dynamic man
I
interviewed him
Because
I heard environmental education was once the only thing taught at the school
A
dynamic man
Told
me
How
much environmental education has made a difference
In
the kids’ lives
Told
me
Some
surprising things
Like
how they have a community cooker (jiko)
Which
converts waste into fuel
Some
surprising things
Some
great ideas
Like
how each child plants, adopts and nurtures a tree
And
grows with it
Some
great ideas
Which
have helped reduce illness
Significant
because the children
Cannot
afford proper healthcare
Which
have helped reduce illness
And
also drive a chain reaction
Which
spreads environmental responsibility
From
child to child
And
also drives a chain reaction
As
I witnessed myself.
The
level of cleanliness around was more than I expected
Especially
looking at the children’s backgrounds
As
I witnessed myself
And
as told by other people at the site
Environmental
education is taught on the school field
And
incorporated into the school’s philosophy
And
as told by other people at the site
The
father/founder
Encourages
the kids to keep an area of
”100
m2” around them clean
The
father/ founder
As
part of his emphasis on the environment
Has
set up a greenhouse and farm (shamba)
Which
are maintained by the children
As
part of his emphasis on the environment
Environmental
education is taught at Garden
Because
of the children’s backgrounds, it has been hard
But emphasis here never stops
Environmental
education is taught at Garden
And
it has had a great impact on the children
Not
being taught such things in the slums,
It
has made them more environmentally responsible
And
it has had a great impact on the children
As
said by my other interviewee
As
a student at the school for a long time,
He
has seen the difference
As
said by my other interviewee
Environmental
education was part of Garden
Before
it became a formal school
Educating
from primary to secondary
Environmental
education was part of Garden
From
the time of its establishment
My
other interviewee: a student
Told
me the effect it had on him
From
the time of its establishment
As
the child told me
It
has taught children from the slums discipline
In
terms of taking care of the environment (environmental responsibility)
As
the child told me
Environmental
education
Has
taught him not only discipline,
But
responsibility towards the environment
Environmental
education
Has
made a huge difference
He
told me there used to be a garbage dump next to garden
And
it helped reduce the effect it had on their premises
Has
made a huge difference
On
the garden community
It
has made them more environmentally responsible
By
incorporating it in their lives
On
the garden community
And
I
It
has made an impact
I
saw how environmental education can change lives
And
I
Think
This
can be implemented
In
other places
Think
What
it could do
If
all schools had it incorporated
Into
their curriculums?
What
it could do is
Change
the world
Change
our surroundings
Especially
in a world under the threat of global warming and climate change
Change
the world
In
a positive way
I
would like to encourage schools back home
To
implement this
In
a positive way
It
could make a huge difference
The situation back home is similar to that of
Kenya
And
I think it can make a great impact
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