Fairgreen International School has implemented six new initiatives to further the sustainable ethos that is woven into the curriculum of the school. From a single, plastic-free campus to growing healthy food in tower gardens, designing solar powered robotic cars and developing creative recyclable art, the school is providing fun-filled ways for their students to support the wellbeing of the planet while educating them to be leaders of their, and future generations in practicing environmental sustainability.
- Fairgreen Students Sport School Bags Repurposed From Recycled Plastic
Fairgreen is the first school in the world to partner with sustainable and eco-friendly fashion bag designers Etuix, a Dubai-based organisation that reuses and recycles old banner ads from the roads of Dubai and repurposes them into everyday bags. Etuix has designed and made Fairgreen school bags for students, including laptop bags, book bags, small and large backpacks and P.E. bags.
- Fairgreen Students Plastic Recycling Efforts Repurpose Used Bottles Into T-shirts
Fairgreen is running a plastic collection programme on the campus that repurposes used plastic bottles into t-shirts. As a single-use, plastic-free campus, Fairgreen students have partnered with Simply Bottles, a Dubai-based company that recycles plastic into usable goods, to do something good with the plastic they find. They have been bringing plastic bottles from home and putting them into one of the student-designed recycling bins to be given over to their partner and converted into wearable t-shirts. It takes three plastic bottles to create one t-shirt. Fairgreen will be collecting and recycling plastic bottles all year.
- The Fairgreen Teacher And Student Allotment
Fairgreen has introduced an after-school activity where teachers and students cultivate and nurture their own crops in an allotment patch set up on the school campus. Teachers have taken it upon themselves to learn how to grow, develop and harvest produce that can then be shared with the school and wider community.
- Fairgreen Healthy Food From Urban Tower Gardens
Students from Pre-K up through to MYP, as well as teachers, have all had a hand in creating urban tower gardens throughout the campus where they are growing lettuce, basil, kale, coriander, among other foods. Students will take this study a step further by learning about healthy eating and the awareness of food wastage by utilizing their home-grown vegetables and herbs in cooking they will do together on campus.
- Fairgreen’s Sustainable Art Department
This year, Fairgreen is opening a student art gallery on campus that will have a predominant space that is focused on art made from recycled materials. At every opportunity, Fairgreen weaves the sustainable ethos into it’s art program. Student art projects align with the IB curriculum and with the school’s sustainability efforts. Fairgreen Art Teacher Sarah Clarke uses reclaimed, resourced and reused materials as much as possible as the foundation of projects.
- Million Solar Stars
Fairgreen’s Science Teacher Adam Hall will be working with students this year to deepen engagement during the school’s second year implementing the Million Solar Stars programme, an international initiative to engage 1 million students in the process of scaling up solar power at 100% schools around the world. They will design and build a mobile PV unit and solar models to demonstrate solar power. Students will execute the Million Solar Stars Challenge in February by hosting the International Jr. Solar Sprint 2020 event on the rooftop of Fairgreen. Students will design, build, and race model solar cars, developing teamwork and problem-solving skills while investigating environmental issues and gaining hands-on STEM skills to build the fastest, most interesting, and best-crafted vehicle possible.
Students will collaborate with schools in Senegal and Kenya to bring solar power to students there. Fairgreen will take a group of students to Kenya later in the year, where they will bring solar reading lights to students and help to educate them on this important sustainable resource. Also in February, Fairgreen will hold a ceremony commemorating the naming of one of its buildings after Dr. Jane Goodall, foremost ecological preservationist whose Roots & Shoots Million Tree Project was the inspiration for the Million Solar Stars program.
“With sustainability and innovation being a key focus for the school, our goal at Fairgreen is to create a learning community that instills the knowledge and habits of sustainability. We have incorporated several initiatives at school to provide our teachers, students, and even parents, a range of opportunities that put this learning into action, raise awareness, and work towards making a true impact in the years ahead,” said Mr. Graeme Scott, Director, Fairgreen International School.
As the region’s first fully sustainable school, Fairgreen’s educational programme is driven by academic achievement and innovation, offering a curriculum that incorporates sustainability in all its forms. The school’s campus in Dubai’s Sustainable City provides the ultimate learning environment for future generations to play a leading role in building a sustainable future. Designed to have a minimal environmental impact, the school is powered by solar energy, recycles water for agricultural use, and utilizes the community’s biodome for health and wellness learning experiences. For further information on Fairgreen International School visit www.fairgreen.ae
