Green Key launched in South Africa

Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), FEE’s member organisation in South Africa, has decided to launch Green Key in South Africa.

Vincent Shacks, new Green Key operator for South Africa explains: “Building on the success of the Blue Flag and Eco-Schools programmes in South Africa, WESSA has been carefully evaluating the possibility for introducing Green Key in our country. Knowing the success of the programme globally, we have concluded that there is a good potential for Green Key here. I would therefore encourage any hotel, eco-lodge and other tourism establishment interested in pursuing the Green Key label to contact us in WESSA”

Finn Bolding Thomsen, International Green Key Director adds: “I am pleased that WESSA has decided to make the Green Key programme now also easily available to tourism establishments in South Africa, and with WESSA being in charge of the work, I am very confident that Green Key will become a success in South Africa.”

Global Action Days November 2015

It’s that time of the year again. Time to act and help the environment! The Global Action Days is a campaign by the Foundation for Environmental Education to activate students and teachers to lead the change for a more sustainable world by getting involved in fun-filled, informative, activities.

Participating in constructive, meaningful actions helps young people to see the point of being involved, and aids their understanding of what they can do themselves to help the environment.

It’s all very simple. Plan your action, document the action by taking pictures, making a video or writing an article, register your school online and SHARE with the rest of the world on our Global Action Days Facebook group in the week of 9-15 November 2015.

Remember to ask your schools to include your country name or some other code in their posts, so you can then find everything happening in your country when using the search field! 

The chosen theme for Global Days of Action 2015 is Climate Change because of the Climate Conference known as COP21 which takes place in Paris later this year. The conference is about all governments agreeing to a deal to significantly reduce man-made Climate Change. As Climate Change is such a huge topic, FEE believes it is the ideal theme to focus on in 2015. 

All information on how to join this action can be found at www.ecoschools.global/global-action-days

#globalactiondays

@FEEInt @EcoSchoolsInt

Slovenia launch the Learning about Forests programme September 2015

The Learning about Forests programme is going from strength to strength! Monday 28 September, our FEE member organisation, Društvo DOVES - FEE Slovenia, launched the Learning about Forests programme. 

Rachel Boyle, International LEAF Director, welcomed Slovenia on board and looks forward to watching the programme grow in Slovenia!

The programme was launched at the annual conference of the Eco-Schools programme . Over 450 eco-coordinators from 285 kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and faculties participated at the Conference. Guests of honour at the conference were: Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Mr. Dejan Zidan, and Ambassador of the Netherlands, Mr. Bart Twaalfhoven.
 
Lek Pharmaceuticals will help support the programme in Slovenia. Ms. Katarina Klemenc, LEK/Sandoz group; director of Corporate Communications attended the launch.
 
The Learning about Forests (LEAF) programme, run by FEE International, was presented by Rachel Boyle, International Director of the programme. It is expected that kindergartens and schools will participate in the programme as forest is included as a topic within main themes of the Eco-Schools programme in Slovenia and many activities already related or even focus on forests. The main purpose of launching the LEAF programme in Slovenia is therefore to make the topic of forest systematically approached and consequently more visible and exposed.  This is important as 60 % of Slovenian territory is covered with forests which puts it on the third place in Europe.

FEE joins Global Alliance of higher education sustainability networks in Open Letter to Cop 21 Ministers

The collective voice of the world’s universities, colleges and students will be heard at COP21 when the United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place in Paris, France during the first week of December.

A global alliance of tertiary and higher education sustainability networks today jointly issued an Open Letter urging Ministers and Governments to acknowledge and strengthen the research and education role that universities and colleges play in addressing climate change. With networks on every continent pledging signatures, the global alliance already represents more than 3000 universities and colleges worldwide.

The Open Letter celebrates and confirms the critical role universities and colleges play in finding and implementing solutions towards climate change mitigation and adaptation and places it in the context of addressing wider issues of sustainability, including social and economic policies and practices.

Addressed to COP21 Ministers and Governments the letter also calls for more specific measures to be taken such as showcasing universities and colleges as living laboratories for climate change adaptation and mitigation, increasing support for trans-disciplinary learning, teaching and research approaches, and using university and college campuses and operations as a leverage agent to accelerate the transition to clean energy sources.

The Open Letter from the global alliance will be handed to COP21 General Secretary Pierre Henri Guignard on 14 October at the UNESCO Headquarters during the Higher Education for Climate Change Action Event. The event is hosted by The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative- HESI which was created by a consortium of UN entities UNESCO, UN-DESA, UNEP, Global Compact and UNU.

If you represent a university or college sustainability related network and wish to become a signatory to the Open Letter, please email john.north@grli.org or ipatton@eauc.org.uk before 9 October.

We hope you will join us in the effort and look forward to your response. You can view the letter here.