The greening of Fgura Primary B

Once upon a time, in a class full of pupils, Miss Amanda asked the children to draw someone from their imaginations. Two pupils, Xandru and Mattea, drew a boy with a belly that lights up when he is happy - and that was the beginning of Riki Eko's adventure.

Who is Riki Eko? A cool boy who loves the environment, and according to the story, comes alive from Mattea and Xandru's drawing.

Written for primary school children, this absorbing and entertaining story captured the imagination of some 460 pupils at Fgura Primary B during a recent activity organised by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) in collaboration with the Education Division. George Pullicino, the parliamentary secretary responsible for the environment, read out the story to the comic interpretation of Mario Spiteri, playing the role of Riki Eko.

It was not the need for entertainment that brought together teachers, pupils, Mepa, Riki Eko and Mr Pullicino. The underlying reason was more serious: the need to strengthen environmental awareness and to empower children to act.

Why Fgura Primary 'B'? This school is taking part in a pilot EkoSkola project along with five other schools in Malta and Gozo. In fact, all participating schools are being visited by the parliamentary secretary and presented with a story of Riki Eko.

But Fgura has its own story to tell. Gwido Borg, the headmaster, describes the experience of being an EkoSkola as interesting both for the children and the school staff. "At the moment, our students are doing a lot of research on environment. It is being discussed in classrooms and outside. Students are building models. They are learning from newspapers about the current environmental situation in the country," said Mr Borg.

Indeed, the school's foyer boasts notice boards filled with newspaper cuttings, drawings, plans for environmental improvement and even models of solar panels and wind turbines made from waste material. According to the headmaster, it is about learning by doing and also learning to do.

Although the European EcoSchool programme was only launched in Malta last October, the results to date are impressive. The school now has an established and fully functioning Eco Committee made up of children, teachers, support staff, parents and even the Fgura mayor. "We will soon be approaching the bank managers of the Fgura branches of BOV and HSBC to take part in our committee," said Mr Borg. The school even has plans to involve the parish priest.

In the opinion of the enterprising headmaster, involvement of the key people from the locality is essential for the school to achieve its goals. And the goals go well beyond the school boundary. "We are identifying areas where we could create benefits for the community. For instance, places where we could help to clean up."

Certainly, the day-to-day running of the EkoSkola project in a school requires a good deal of coordination. At Fgura Primary 'B', Bridget Giusti was chosen to be the person for that job.

According to Ms Giusti, through the EkoSkola programme, the school is helping itself to become a cleaner, greener and environmentally conscious place. Apart from the classroom, environmental awareness is now being achieved through practical measures.

"At the moment, we are doing a project on collecting and recycling paper. We are also encouraging reduction in the use of paper. Besides, we have a project on the collection of waste, a project on measuring parents' attitudes towards the use of renewable energy and recycling of water. and even a project on healthy eating," said Ms Giusti.

Perhaps one of the most important features of the EkoSkola programme is that it is based on a whole school approach. Dr Paul Pace, who was commissioned by Mepa to be the national coordinator for the pilot project explains that this approach weaves environmental education within the School Development Plan. The entire school community, including students, parents, teachers and support staff, are being involved in the establishment of the school's environmental values and their progressive incorporation into its school ethos.

Such an approach eventually leads to concrete and tangible results. In the case of Fgura, one of these results is the school's indigenous garden, a marvelous piece of greenery in the school's back yard.

I was impressed. Not so much by the garden's sandarac gum tree, but by the fact that the European EcoSchool programme has managed to grow so strong from a small seed planted less than four months ago.