The Environment Society of Oman’s (ESO) Green Schools competition is underway and 33 out of the 119 schools registered have been shortlisted to compete for the best eco-friendly project. This country-wide contest is sponsored by Veolia Oman, a leading global and regional resource management company, and Emily’s Garden, a memorial fund that has been set up by the Jewitt family in memory of their late daughter Emily who was passionate about the environment and actively supporting change in her own school in Oman. The student-led teams have until April 2020 to work on their sustainable solutions for either energy, water or waste management, for the chance to win cash prizes.
Jawaher Al Ghafri, Education Coordinator at ESO, said: “Through the Green Schools initiative, we seek to contribute to the implementation of the goals set by the United Nations, which views education as the foundation for sustainable development. Part of our work is to teach young Omanis about pertinent environmental issues and to enable them to transfer this knowledge to tangible activities. We have received many impressive submissions so the competition is certainly going to be high, and we look forward to seeing the results next year.”
Open to government-school students from fifth to ninth grade, entrants came from across all of Oman’s nine regions and governates. As part of the submission process, candidates had to fill out an evaluation form on the current status of their schools with regards to water, energy or waste and then determine an action plan on how they will reduce its impact at the school, as well as raise awareness within the wider community. Submissions were whittled down to 33 schools; 13 competing in the Waste Management category, 11 in the Water Management category and 9 in the Energy Management category.
Erwan Rouxel, Chief Executive Officer at Veolia Oman said, “We’re glad to be a part of this wonderful initiative that focuses on some of the biggest environmental issues of our time. In our quest to create a truly sustainable and self-sufficient ecosystem, it is crucial to get youth on-board and foster their interaction with the environment. It is part of Veolia commitment to connect with the community and to raise awareness on environmental protection, that benefits us all.”
Ian Jewitt, founder of Emily’s Garden, added, “Emily’s Garden is all about improving the impact that humans have on the world and we know that much of it is in the hands of the next generation. As well as lending our support to a cause that was close to our daughter Emily’s heart, ESO’s Green Schools initiative is also our way of giving back to the people of Oman, which was her beloved home for five and a half years.”
Schools now need to work on their chosen projects considering the evaluation criteria, which takes into account the feasibility of the plan, its impact within the school and community, and the size and quantities of the resources saved. During the competition, ESO will visit all the qualified schools and provide feedback to help them implement their projects better. Each school will also regularly and periodically fill out data in order to monitor the development of the action plan, achieve the proposed goals and improve overall environmental performance.
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