Sustainability Accelerator Program for our ECO-School

by Jennifer  LaForge

Back in September of this year, I was scrolling through Facebook (yes, this statement ages me), when I came across an advertisement for something called ‘SAP’. The advertisement immediately grabbed my attention with the catchy slogan, its bright colours and the yellow tree graphic. I clicked the logo and proceeded to read through the proposal. I discovered that this pilot program is being funded partly by the EU and partly by Erasmus. As I read more, I found out that only 5-6 schools would be selected to participate in the program. The purpose, to help all EU schools become more sustainably minded and incorporate more sustainable practices and teachings into our curriculum. What an encouraging idea! This idea links directly to our ISD mission statement and the goals that our ECO-Team strives to achieve each academic year.

Stichting Technotrend, Innovation Hub School, and Teachers for Climate invited any interested schools to join a webinar at the end of September. Ms. Miros and I both signed up for this first informative evening. Fueled by the prospect of doing something that could foster real change in our school, we decided to apply for the program. 

In October we heard some great news: ISD had been selected as 1 of 6 schools in the EU! The other partner schools are located in Germany, Portugal and The Netherlands. We are beyond excited for this pilot program and we immediately invited 3 equally enthusiastic students to take part in our team. Julia P, Matilda, and Marina from MYP 3 were selected after applying with an application of intent and a commitment to be a part of the team for the entirety of the school year.

Our proposal for the program is called ‘Eco-Tinkering’ and involves some ideas that we have already incorporated at ISD (second hand market, ocean clean-up, breaker sessions). Our SAP team will work together all year long, coached by a member of Teacher’s for Climate to fine tune our ideas. In June of 2024, we will present our Eco-Tinkering ideas to the other schools in this pilot program, as well as representatives from the EU, Erasmus, Stichting Technotrend, Innovation Hub School, and Teachers for Climate.

Do you have any questions about SAP? Do you have any ideas involving sustainability that we might be able to incorporate into the ISD school curriculum or after school activities agenda? If you answered yes to either of these questions, please send either Ms. Miros or myself an email. We would love to hear from you! After all, you can be the change you wish to see in the world!

https://stichtingtechnotrend.nl/sustainability-accelerator-programme