I can hardly think of anything more important than environmental education, especially in these treacherous times. Now the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) is celebrating the 20th anniversary (can it really be so long?) of its Schools’ Environment Programme (SEP), which I consider to be a model programme of its kind.
I have written about the SEP many times and over the years I have attended many of its special events, which are always inspiring. It is a serious programme – not a PR campaign, but much more – really putting students and teachers to work. It encourages young people to conduct research and to figure out practical solutions to environmental problems for themselves, in their own schools and communities. I think the SEP’s longevity proves its worth. Congratulations, JET! May the SEP continue for many more years! Please support it, one and all! Here is JET’s press release, and here is a nice video about the programme over the years. All the photos are from JET.
October 25, 2017
JET to Honour Teachers as it Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Schools’ Environment Programme
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Jamaica Environment Trust’s (JET’s) flagship environmental education initiative, the Schools’ Environment Programme (SEP). SEP is the longest running programme of its kind in Jamaica, having been delivered in over 350 Jamaican schools, with an estimated reach of over 300,000 students and 600 teachers during its lifetime. SEP is currently funded by the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) who has been supporting the programme since 2012. SEP also receives the support of several corporate donors, many of which have been sponsoring the programme since its inception.
This month JET celebrates this important SEP anniversary by launching a campaign recognizing the laudable work of the teachers who have been partnering with the organization to deliver SEP in Jamaican schools over the past 20 years. The “Feature the Teacher” SEP social media campaign will take the form of monthly social media posts highlighting outstanding Jamaican teachers who have been instrumental in the success of SEP. “These teachers have worked hard, volunteering years of dedicated service to the Schools’ Environment Programme, often with little recognition” said Tamoy Singh Clarke, Programme Director of JET. “Our 20th anniversary is the perfect time for us to honour their achievements and we’re very proud to celebrate their efforts,” she added. The SEP 20th anniversary celebrations will also feature the release of a short video on JET’s social media networks, highlighting the environmental work of schools currently participating in the programme.
In the 2017/2018 academic year SEP will feature a cohort of 39 primary/prep participating schools. SEP schools are expected to have a well-established environmental club, as well as carry out their environmental activities under two main thematic areas: solid waste management and greening of their school grounds. This year’s SEP activities will also include two teacher training workshops delivered by JET under the theme ‘Beaches’ this November, school supervision visits from the JET team in the Christmas and Easter terms, and a student workshop hosted by JET in May 2018. SEP activities will culminate at an annual SEP Research Day in June 2018 where schools will feature their environmental work from the 2017/18 academic year and be awarded for outstanding achievements. The Champion Teacher Award will be reintroduced at the SEP Research Day Award Ceremony as part of the 20th Anniversary celebrations.
Recently, Mrs. Lorraine Brown-Knight, Vice-Principal at the Mount St. Joseph Prep School in Manchester reflected on her schools’ participation in the programme over the years, “SEP has made Mount St Joseph Prep an environmentally aware school, and for this we are in debt. For 20 years strong our greening, garbage management, environment club and environment research projects are aspects of SEP that will ever live long. Thank you JET for SEP.”
Contact: Ms. Tamoy Singh Clarke, Programme Director, Jamaica Environment Trust, 123 Constant Spring Road, Unit 5, Kingston 8. Tel: (876) 960-3693/ 469-1311. Fax: (876) 926-0212. Email: tsingh.jet@gmail.com Website: http://www.jamentrust.org
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