SCHOOLS FOR GREEN ACTION – Consumers Association Penang

*Making reusable cloth bags from old t-shirts.*

*Sharing community in action – book swapping among students.*

Green Action Week is a global campaign to promote sustainable consumption. Each year from September to October, organisations around the world take joint action to promote a common cause. This initiative which was started in Sweden in 1990 by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation has grown to become an international partnership since 2010. It is carried out in coordination with Consumers International, of which CAP is a member.

The Green Action Week theme since 2018 has been ‘Sharing Community’. This year CAP decided to collaborate with schools in fostering sharing community among school communities, with the theme “Schools for Green Action”.

*Students making natural fragrant air fresheners from daun pandan.*

*CAP’s exhibition on agroecology at the Green Action Week 2022 event at SMK Convent Butterworth.*

Going green and becoming sustainable are not new initiatives for schools in Penang. In a move to introduce green projects to schools, CAP had started edible gardens, herbal corners, and composting units at schools in Penang so that teachers, students, and school gardeners can grow chemical-free plants and vegetables.

Schools in Penang have also been actively moving towards zero waste through waste prevention, minimisation, repurposing materials, composting of organic waste, and waste segregation at source for recycling. These are supported by both the City Councils of Penang Island and Seberang Perai.

SMK Convent Butterworth has all this and more, including rainwater harvesting, practising energy savings, making natural growth promoters for plants, making cloth bags out of old t-shirts, etc. We are holding this year’s Green Action Week here so that other schools that have come to the programme today can see, learn, emulate the green actions, and also share their own initiatives.

*Daun pandan weaving, fragrant & decorative air freshener.*

We aim to incorporate the concept of sharing and collaborative community through schools. Schools for Green Action can combine learning with hands-on experience, providing our future generations with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values needed to lead a sustainable lifestyle.

Children are our future generation. When sustainability and environmental consciousness are inculcated in children from young, we hope that they will continue being mindful as adults, make greener choices and reduce their carbon footprint.

When school communities collaborate, and share knowledge, goods and service, we don’t only bring communities closer together but we also reduce our ecological footprint. Let us all work together for a better future.