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Fiji  Hub  Achievement  Report  –  July  2015  Sustained  Environmental  Education  -­‐    Moturiki     A  key  objective  of  the  GVI  Fiji  Marine  Conservation  Programme  is  to  work  alongside  local  youth  to  promote  environmental  awareness  and  sustainable  practices.  Working  across  2  schools   in  the  Mo-­‐turiki  District,  GVI  Fiji  aims  to  inspire  and  instill  a  sense  of  stewardship  in  students  through  designing  fun  and  engaging  activities  as  platforms  for  learning.  The  Environmental  Education  Program  endeav-­‐ors  to  enrich  the  education  provided  and  broaden  opportunities  for  the  pupils.    In  consultations  with  the  teachers  of  Moturiki  District  School  and  Uluibau  Primary  School,  GVI  devel-­‐oped  an  environmental  education  curriculum.  ‘It’s  not  Waste  till  you  Waste  it’,’  Sustainable  Seas  and  ‘Clean  and  Green,  Healthy  and  Happy’  contribute  to  GVI’s  broader  objective  to  empower  communi-­‐ties  to  sustainably  manage  waste  and  natural  resources  and  promote  child  health.  These learning objectives are delivered through a series of GVI-led lessons at both schools. To aid and rein-force learning, games and activities were designed on each topic.  During  Term  1  &  2,  the  first  theme,  It’s  Not  Waste  ‘Til  you  Waste  it,  addressed  waste  management  which  has  an  immense  impact  on  the  marine  ecosystem.  After  carrying  out  surveys  which  highlight-­‐ed  poor  waste  management  practices,  GVI  recognised  the  need  to  assist  Moturiki  District  to  better  manage  their  waste.  Student  in  classes    one  to  four,  focussed  on  waste  sorting  and  sustainable  envi-­‐ronmental  disposal  methods,  whilst  classes  five  to  eight  focused  on  decomposition  rates,  ecosystem  interconnectivity  (ridge  to  reef  approach),  food  webs  and  bio-­‐accumulation.  

 

 

Figure 1- MDS students make a food web.  

 In  term  3,  the  second  topic,  ‘Clean  and  Green,  Healthy  and  Happy’  aims  to  address  healthy  living.  GVI  anticipates  that  by  teaching  children  to  live  a  clean  and  green  healthy  lifestyle,  an  environmental  friendly  habit  will  follow.  The  main  objective  of  this  topic  is  to  develop  understanding  of  the  im-­‐portance  of  WaSH,  healthy  eating  and  exercise  for  healthy  and  happy  individuals.  Within  this  theme,  

 

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good  water  management  practices  are  being  taught,  which  will  eventually  lead  to  increasing  access  to  continual  safe  drinking  water  and  appropriate  sanitary  disposal  systems.      These  lessons  were  designed  to  complement  awareness  and  community  outreach  carried  out  in  the  various  Moturiki  villages  by  the  government.  One  of  the  most  effective  projects  implemented  in  the  schools  was  the  ‘Tippy  Taps’  which  are  simple  handwashing  stations  designed  to  encourage  children  to  wash  their  hands  more  often.    

Figure 2 - Uluibau students use tippy-taps for the first time.  

 The  final  topic  to  be  taught,  Sustainable  Seas,  is  a  core  fundamental  theme  when  dealing  with  ma-­‐rine  conservation.  It  addresses  ways  in  which  Moturiki  District  could  better  manage  their  marine  resources  by  employing  sustainable  fishing  practices  and  other  marine  management  tools,  such  as  a  marine  protected  area  (MPAs).  GVI  hopes  that  by  teaching  students  from  a  young  age  about  marine  conservation  issues,  a  better  informed  community  will  develop,  enabling  the  members  to  make  clear  and  informed  decisions  when  managing  their  marine  resources.    

 The  Fiji  Green  Growth  Framework  2014  which  complements  the  Peoples  Charter  for  Change,  is  a  document  adopted  by  the  Fijian  Government  as  a  roadmap  for  Democracy  and  Sustainable  Econom-­‐ic  Development.  The  Green  Growth  Framework  focuses  on  rebalancing  three  pillars  of  sustainable  development  for  Fiji  -­‐  Environment,  Social  and  Economic.  It  is  important  to  note  that  all  topics  cov-­‐ered  in  the  GVI  Environmental  Education  program  complement  this  framework  and  are  contained  within  the  thematic  areas  2  (Waste  Management),  3  (Sustainable  Island  and  Ocean  Resources)  and  6  (Freshwater  Resources  and  Sanitation  Management)      GVI  has  had  positive  feedback  from  both  schools,  where  not  only  awareness  of  the  importance  of  sustainable  living  is  growing  week  by  week,  but  the  children  are  also  benefitting  from  the  extra  in-­‐teractions  in  English,  with  teachers  observing  an  increased  use  of  vocabulary  and  understanding.    

 

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Looking  towards    future  school  terms,  GVI  plans  to  further  develop  the  Environment  Education  Pro-­‐gram  based  on  the  thematics  of  the  Green  Growth  Framework  with  a  focus  on  “Restoring  the  Bal-­‐ance  in  Development  that  is  Sustainable  for  Our  Future”.    

Figure 3 MDS students listening to a GVI volunteer about sustainability

 

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  Figure 4 MDS students using their new tippy-tap. Figure 6 MDS students learning to sort out waste.