On the evening of the 27th of February, local NGO, the Wildlands Conservation Trust, held the second annual Schools Recycling Awards Ceremony for their Wildlands Recycling initiative. The function was held at Deccan Road Primary School in Raisthorpe. Deccan Road Primary collected a staggering 35 628kg’s of recycling during 2011, to win them top position out of the 92 schools involved in the project, from the uMgungundlovu district.
The Wildlands Recycling initiative started in 2010 with funding from the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund (through the African Conservation Trust) and Unilever South Africa. It now supports a network of more than 92 schools, which together with a number of businesses, residential complexes, charities and ‘waste-preneurs’, collected in excess of 2, 500 000 kg’s of recycling in 2011.
Deccan Road Primary was awarded the Wildlands Recycling floating trophy for 2011, as well as a cheque to the value of R8270.00 for their contribution (40% of the income from the sale of the recyclables is given back to each school). The school’s Principal, Mr Siv Gounden, said the school was driven by the educational, intrinsic value of the project rather than the reward, “We believe that learning should manifest in the behaviour of our learners”, he said. “It has been a team effort with the governing body, staff, parents and learners all getting involved, and their hard work has paid off.”
Mrs Sharon Naidoo, Deputy Principal and head of the recycling initiative at Deccan Road Primary, explained how they managed to tip the scales: “Each day of the week, different grades bring in their recycling. We have recycling monitors in each class who then help sort the recycling. Monitors also record which children bring their recycling in and classes are encouraged to compete against each other. We are also open all weekend so parents [and community members] who can’t come during the week, can also bring their recycling”.
Ten year old recycling monitor Viyuktha Deoparsad, in Grade 6, said on her schools win: “ It doesn’t matter to me that we won, it’s just important that we keep our environment safe.”
Other schools in the top performers included Kharina Secondary in 2nd place, with 29 412kg’s collected and Michaelhouse in 3rd with 28 041kg’s collected in 2011. W.A. Lewitt Primary, St Johns DSG, Epworth High, Treverton, St Anne’s and Russel High School also collected more than 10 000 kg’s in the year.
Dr Andrew Venter, CEO of the Wildlands Conservation Trust said it was exciting how the initiative had linked the schools with their communities and surrounding ecosystems: “ For me it’s so rewarding to see how the schools have embraced the project and that communities are working together to protect the ecosystems in this area. We rely on these ecosystems for survival, and it’s our children who are inheriting them”.
Caption: From left: Dr Andrew Venter, CEO, Wildlands Conservation Trust with Mr Siv Gounden, Principal, Deccan Road Primary, Mrs Sharon Naidoo, Deputy Principal, Deccan Road Primary and Mrs Urvashi Haridass, Relationship Manager, Wildlands Recycling. Deccan Road Primary received the Wildlands Recycling floating trophy for the second year running, earning their school a total of R8270.00.