Green Schools

It was a pleasure to attend on 13 November a stakeholder networking event for a project named Scoli Verzi: Green Schools.

This has its origins in evidence from organisations such as Eurobarometer that Romanians are among the least well-informed Europeans on environmental issues. The initiative was launched by two NGOs, WWF Romania and GreenInitiative, as an attempt to change the mindset of Romanian students from one of “eco-indifference” to active supporters of positive change.

Using five pilot counties across Romania, plus Bucharest itself, and with funding support from Lidl, the project has focused on teacher training and the development of an optional education model for Romanian schools. It was at this point that the British Council entered the picture. Romanian parents are generally particularly keen on optional modules focused on English-language teaching. The British Council has therefore worked with the WWF and GreenInitiative in putting together an optional course titled “Eco-Education for Green Schools in English”, which will be available from the 2018-2019 academic year. A local coordinator has been appointed in every Romanian county with the initial target of teaching 500 teachers nationwide, and materials are being translated into English.

At the launch Catalina Murariu, coordinator of the Scoli Verzi programme at the WWF, set out three objects. An apple. A copy of Rachel Carson’s seminal work “Silent Spring”. And a reusable water bottle. They marked, she said, the three stages of the programme. Connecting with the environment. Understanding environmental issues. And changing personal behaviour in an environmentally positive way. Important objectives; and it is great that the British Council is supporting this valuable project helping the environmental education of young Romanians.