Pupils from St.Marys Girls Primary school in Nakuru make a fence from used plastic bottles. Photo/PristoneMambili
St Mary’s Girls’ Primary school in Nakuru Town East has embraced the art of shaping girls both in Education, art as well as environmental sector.
The school, which is among the best in Nakuru as far as education is concerned, has also embraced the education for sustainable development program with projects such as poultry, environmental conservation projects and art.
According to Fidelis Aula, who is one of those spearheading the education for sustainable development program, the world is now focusing on the strategic development goals and therefore need in education for sustainable development.
“The world is now focusing on the Strategic Development Goals and therefore the education for sustainable development will ensure the goals are achieved. More so we are now imbedding this into our curriculum,” she said.
The projects in the school include Poultry project and Environmental projects (Environment conservation) as well as artistic aspect –projects that are sponsored by Israel Embassy.
Nurit Hashimshong and Michal Dolev from Israel speaking when they visited the school commended the work being done especially on environment conservation through the ‘bottles project’ which the girls in the school use to make beautiful fence and at the same time conserve environmental.
“We came from Israel and we just here in this school to see what they are doing as far as environmental conservation and we must say this school is doing great work and we hope other schools will also emulate the same,” they said.
When you step in St.Mary’s Girls’ Primary, the conducive environment will welcome you, then you spot the bottle-made fence which makes the environment even more beautiful.
But then how do bottles make a fence ?That is the question that lingers into one’s mind when you hear about this project being done in this school.
Lucy Musanga - a standard Eight pupil in the school and who is also the chairperson of the Environment club, says the project is one of its kind and brain child of their Head teacher who visited Israel and came back with it.
“We started this in 2015 after our Head teacher attended a conference on the same in Israel," she said.
A walk in the school’s compound will enable one understand that indeed not only do the girls make this fence for the beauty of the school but in another way they are being shaped into environmentalists who are ensuring that no plastic bottles are littering the environment.
Apart from the environment club, the school is also empowering the girls through art where they make artistic items for sale.
Hope Wangari, who is the chairperson of the Art club in the school,said people can make a living out of art.
“Here at art club we are not only about education but to produce an all round self reliable person even if we’ll not be able to nurture our carreer we can achieve through art which can help in life,” she said.
According to the School’s Head teacher Mrs Damaris Ochieng, she wants the school to practise what she learnt in Israel in a 2015 trip.
“Apart from the academics, we are also doing education for sustainable development and we can promise you that the girls when they leave St. Mary’s after the 8 years they know what to do when in the community,” she said.
Education for sustainable development program is being rolled out to schools across the country with aim to ensure that children are empowered academically as well as in terms of entrepreneurial skills