The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago...
This week’s email comes to us from Elida Banda, our extraordinary Project Officer in Zambia. Elida led the launch of our environmental projects in Katete West this fall and has her story below. Thank you, Elida!
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” – Nelson Henderson
The first week of November was an exciting week for Impact Network as it launched its long awaited environmental project at Katete West schools. The week was even more exciting to our grade 7 students who took part in our Inaugural Impact Network Environmental Week: A week that aimed to raise awareness on environmental protection issues through educational workshops and engaging activities. This project was funded through our partnership with The Addax & Oryx Foundation and we are so grateful for their support of their project!
Each day started off with workshops on topics such as deforestation and its impact on the environment, solutions to deforestation, planting & caring for young trees, the importance of water, water pollution, environmental pollution & solutions, and ways we can upcycle trash in our work. The launch of the first Environmental Week was exiting and fun for our students! It gave them an opportunity to engage in a variety of activities and demonstrate an appreciation for their environment. They participated in tree planting, upcycling, a “green” fashion show, games, poems, songs and Jeopardy – all to apply the knowledge they gained during the week. Environmental Week was a unique and important week to our grade 7 students especially because it heightened their imaginations and enthusiasm for on environmental protection issues. The week activities were hands-on, interactive, and they sparked the imagination and unlocked creativity among students. The week also helped students to understand how their decisions and actions affect the environment, build skills necessary to address complex environmental issues such as deforestation and pollution, and showed them ways they can take action to keep their environment healthy and sustainable for the future.
We are looking forward to next year’s Environmental Week!
Top Left & Middle: Tree Planting activities
Top Right: Trash collection by our students!
Bottom Left: Art work on proper sanitation
Bottom Middle: Some of the competitors for Green Fashion Show
Bottom Right: Some of the amazing art projects from our trash collection!
“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – By Darrell Putman
Thank you Elida! It is so inspiring to see our students thinking outside the box with these inventions.