Synopsis of Canon Laurie Anglican School
Winner of the Bio-School Award for Best Practice in Solid Waste Management

This school undertakes many activities related to Solid Waste Management.  They include :

• Discussions with the Solid Waste Management Authority to plan the way forward with respect to solid waste management at the school
• Clean-up exercises
• Presentations by staff of the Solid Waste Authority to the school
• School assemblies that focus on litter management
• Provision of waste receptacles in the school yard and classrooms
• Showcasing of litter management as “best practice” in exhibition, GLO-EX2, hosted by Education District 2.
• Video documentation of some activities by Dove Marketing Inc.
• Tour of the Deglos Sanitary Landfill by the entire staff and student body
• Organisation of anti-litter march through streets of Castries and distributed messages to minibus operators and vendors
• Participation, regularly in Antilitter Schools’ March and National Cleanup Campaign organized by the Solid Waste Management Authority
• Production of jingles, songs, poems, compositions and paintings focusing on litter management
• Engagement of students in Waste Management Research Project
• Production of craft items from waste materials and exhibited them
• Development of antilitter pledge for school : “ With strong determination, pride and dedication, I vow not to litter and to encourage the people of my community and country to do the same, for the cleanliness and health of our nation, St. Lucia”.
• Featuring of Littering in article of School Creed – “ Just for today, I will not drop any paper and other litter in the classroom or on the playground’.
• Appointment of “Secret Litter Agent” to help curb the incidence of littering on its premises. This method of monitoring the school’s “Litter Bugs” has been a resounding success.
• Production of a booklet entitled “Influencing and Developing Environmental Awareness for Life” ,Ideal Practices, which includes a compilation of press releases, students’ work, the Secret Litter Agent proposal, lyrics to jingles, slogans and pictures.
• The school is managed by Ms. Andrea Bourne

Synopsis of La Guerre Combined Primary School Environmental Club
Winner of the Bio-School Award for Most Outstanding Primary School Environmental  Club

The Environmental Club of this school was established in the year 2001. The school has an enrollment of 214 students and the school is located in the community of Babonneau.
The Environment Club of the school has twenty-five student members.

The main objectives of the club are to develop an awareness of the importance of the environment among students and to cultivate the need to protect valuable natural resources.

The members of the club are committed to the various activities organized by the group leader as well as the St. Lucia National Trust. These activities are geared towards enhancing the environment, thus making St. Lucia a better and healthier place to live.

Some of the activities which the club participates in, include the following:

• Clean-up campaigns
• Beautification projects which include planting flowers and painting public places like the Bus Shelter.
• Participation in turtle watches.
• Observation of Earth Day activities including Soleil Leve.
• Touring of National Heritage sites and places of historical significance.
• Guest lectures are organized for speakers to address the students on environmental issues, and
• Presentations at events organized to focus on the environment.

The club is supervised by Mrs. Mary Francis, who has served as the leader of the club from its inception.

Synopsis of Micoud Primary School
Winner of the Bio-School Award for Best Practices in Beautification

This school was established in 1975. The student population is 348. The school is a member of the St. Lucia National Trust. Students have been exposed to a number of environmentally oriented tours over the years. Sites visited include the Barre de L’Isle Forest Nature Trail, the Fregate Island Nature Reserve and La Tille Falls. Recently, the school observed a presentation and lecture series at which resource persons delivered environmental topics to students.

There are twenty active students which participate in the school’s beautification project. Activities under this project include tree planting, maintaining the plants and related areas and producing labels with the names of the trees. The latter serves as an education exercise for both students and members of the community. The fruit trees and tree crops which have been planted in the school for many years have been well taken care of and not destroyed. There is a school garden which also provides produce for sale. The students also take part in on-going clean-up exercises. The school is under the leadership of Ms. Laurentia Canaii.

Synopsis of Ciceron Secondary
Winner of the Bio-School Award for Best Practice in Water Management

A visit to this school will establish that the students take pride in their environment. Through a project involving an American non-governmental organization represented by Mary Beth Sutton, over the past twelve months, the students have been engaged in a watershed management project where they have been given a better appreciation of the need to conserve our valuable water resources through the processes that occur in a watershed. A watershed is the drainage basin of a river and in St. Lucia, our water supply mainly comes from our rivers. Through its environmental club, the school undertakes activities that impact positively on the conservation of the watershed of which their school is an integral part.

The Club began in September 2004 as a pilot project with the Caribbean Students' Environmental Alliance (Caribbean SEA). Presently they are 32 members strong, and are being assisted by 3 collaborating teachers.
They believe that maintaining a healthy and secure natural resource base is the only way that we can ensure our environment's ability to provide for the needs of our growing population.

Their major objectives are to:

Focus student education on their home watershed, emphasizing the need to retain environmental quality in a tourism based economy.

• Educate students on their personal connectedness to the environment and the balance that is needed between them.
• Initiate baseline monitoring of the natural environment.
• Undertake research projects involving testing innovative technologies, researching beneficial alternatives and monitoring impacts on the environment.

The Environmental Club also did a clean up of the school ravine after some heavy rains which brought down lots of garbage against the school fence even causing the fence to break. There was a large volume of garbage which consisted of mainly plastic bottles and plastic bags. That garbage came from the community. They prepared a brochure to let members of the community know how their garbage disposal affects the school, an important of the watershed.

Composting
They use biodegradeable waste from the school canteen, wood shavings from the building technology lab, plant clippings from maintenance of the school grounds as well as waste from the rabbit hutch to build up a compost heap. Based on this project, the school is now participating in a school greening programme with the St.Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority.

The school has an anti-litter patrol.
Two members of the anti-litter patrol are responsible for each form level.
Classroom inspections are done three times daily by members of the Anti-litter Patrol. We use a set of criteria which includes areas such as cleanliness of floors, corridors, desk and chairs to award points to each classroom.

At the end of each week, the classroom in each form level with the highest score is awarded a certificate.

The students visited the WASCO Treatment Plant and learnt how WASCO treats water before getting it into our taps. They feel safe drinking water from their taps. They also learnt how sewage water is treated before being released into the environment.

The students have also gone on forest walks and learnt about the importance of the forest in water production.

They visited the Soufriere Marine Management Area, SMMA, to get an appreciation for the collaborative management of a marine reserve.

As a result of these various activities, the students have obtained a better understanding of the processes that can impact on the conservation of a watershed and therefore the water supply.

Students are also becoming aware of water management including the impact of solid waste on the water supply and how they can prevent the water supply from becoming contaminated by garbage.

It is the intention of the school that a water quality monitoring program will be instituted during the approaching 2005-2006 academic year, to assess the levels of chemicals in the stream passing through their school on a regular basis. This information will later be presented to the school and community and exhibited nationally.

Synopsis of Castries Comprehensive Secondary School Environmental Club
Winner of the Bio-School Award for Most Outstanding Secondary School Environmental  Club

This school takes pride in being an accomplished environmentally educated institution. Over the years, it has seen a number of environmentally conscious initiatives come on stream. These have been manifested through the establishment of a number of clubs/organizations/groups.
Examples include :

• The Red Cross Group established in 1991 which has organized and taken part in Simulation exercises to increase consciousness for health and safety.
• The Young Leaders Club which has won several awards including regional ones for the innovative idea of building a green house with plastic soft drink bottles.
• Members have also engaged in establishing murals at strategic locations around the school depicting the need to keep the environment clean.
• The Science Department’s Annual activities such as Environmental Clean-Up and Water Awareness campaigns. A solar weed eater developed by Mr. Austin Philip of the Technical Department won second prize in this year’s Science Fair. Over the years, Mr. Philip has developed several solar projects including a solar fridge, a solar iron, a solar cattle fence and a solar car.
• The general administration and staff of the school engage in the Rodent Elimination Project with the Rodent Coordination Unit (RCU) of the Ministry of Health.
• Several environment clubs established over the years, of which one will be singled out tonight.  The main objective of this club is to protect the environment with a special emphasis on biodiversity.  For the past ten years, members of the club have undertaken many projects aimed at ensuring the continual existence of our trees and animals.

Examples include:

• Caring for the mangrove on the northern boundary of the school and cleaning the river, which flows through it into the sea, in the hope of maintaining the life, birds and other wildlife of that region
• Planting trees around the school.
• Adopting the stretch of beach from the Wharf Restaurant to the Choc River.
• Monitoring the indiscriminate disposal of waste dumped into the Choc River, which flows into the sea.
• Controlling rat infestation.
• Linking with the Forestry Department to educate and save our pure water supply.
• Joining international groups on clean-up campaigns.
• Participating in the UNESCO Associated Schools’ Sandwatch Project
• Participating in the Biodiversity debate

The club tends to involve the entire school in its activities, as well as educate the community especially through the PTA and the Young Leaders.