Eco Schools Update

Our ambitious goal of moving toward Green Flag by 2014, our Green Council has worked its way through a semester of planning for a variety of initiatives. Ideas are being implemented with the top three being those of the sensory garden, the hydroponic project and the tree planing going on at Ampang.   The plan for the upcoming semester is to steadily move our documentation on the new Green Council website (https://sites.google.com/a/iskl.edu.my/greencouncil/), created by Deanna Anuar ('14). Among other things the site (currently still under construction) highlights the action plans aimed at the theme of nature/biodiversity that we have chosen for this academic year. 

The tree planting project (organized by seniors Diksha Srishyla and Belinda Gil (president and vice president of the HS Earth Club) is underway with the goal of planting trees at the front of the Ampang campus as well as augment the existing trees on the side of the bussing area (facing Mardec). It is hoped that the trees will be delivered and the HS Earth Club (as well as other groups?) will assist in their planting. We hope the planting will be complete by the end of this month.

On the hydroponics front, the student coordinators, Deanna Anuar and Alysha Alizan, have met with John Hollenbach (Project Manager) and Saha Narsiman (Ampang campus Supervisor) to identify sites where the creation of a hydroponics garden seems appropriate. We are hopeful that the project, which doubles as a CAS project for the girls, will be up and running by the end of this semester. 

The Green Council is also working away on the creation of an eco code, which comprises part of the requirements for our participation in the Eco Schools program. As one might suspect, the wording for such a code needs to be 'just right' and the council is working hard to ensure that it represents our school's values toward nature and sustainability before becoming a public document. 

All these initiatives, in conjunction with things we already do with regard to nature/biodiversity (e.g. Grade 1 nature walks, environmental studies classes, Malaysia Week and GAP trips to support ecosystem habitat, etc.) are essential components to moving forward with the Eco Schools program and, more importantly, to allowing our students to experience and learn about the benefits of nature and how we can make a positive difference in ensuring natural sustainability. 

Of course, we will continue to update you as the developments take place, but we are confident that we'll be able to approach Eco Schools with an application for silver certification quite soon.