S4S gives climate change books to schools |13 December 2010

The handover on Monday December 6 was hosted by La Retraite primary school and attended by guests, as well as teachers and children from the school’s wildlife and ecoschool clubs.

The new climate change resources will be distributed to primary, secondary and post-secondary school libraries, where they can be used by teachers and students to support schools’ efforts to integrate climate change education into the curriculum.

Iris Carolus, chairperson of S4S – an environmental NGO – who officially handed over the resources said producing these resources forms part of a wider campaign with funding support from the United Nations Development Programme/Second National Communication and the National Climate Change Committee, in collaboration with the Department of Environment and the Sea Level Rise Foundation.

S4S’s climate change education campaign has included stickers on buses, art workshops for children, workshops for professionals and post-secondary students from different sectors, the production of an in-flight video for Air Seychelles and a play on sustainable living staged by the Comédie des Seychelles. 

Odile Octave, director-general for schools, received the resources on behalf of the Department of Education.

In her address, she said although schools already have a very strong track record for environmental activities, more must be done to address the urgent and pressing issue of climate change, particularly because small islands states like Seychelles are so vulnerable.

She urged teachers and students to take advantage of these new resources to learn more about the issue of climate change, how it will affect Seychelles, and what they and their families can do about it.

S4S is now producing more educational resources for schools and raising public awareness on issues related to climate change, such as waste management and rainwater harvesting.

Private schools and others outside the jurisdiction of the Department of Education are invited to contact Sustainability for Seychelles on info@s4s.sc if they would like a set of the climate change resources for their libraries as well.