Pictured above: HSBC Group Senior Manager Corporate Sustainability Sue Alexander, Nature Trust President Vincent Attard  HSBC Malta’s Doriette Camilleri and Prof. Paul Pace, Nation EkoSkola co-ordinator

HSBC Malta Foundation has donated €10,000 to Nature Trust (Malta) to assist this NGO in furthering the EkoSkola national programme among state schools and other schools in Malta and Gozo.

The donation was presented by Group Senior Manager Corporate Sustainability Sue Alexander to Nature Trust Executive President Vincent Attard during the recently held 10^th EkoSkola Parliament session in Valletta.

The EkoSkola Parliament session is an annual event that brings together young policymakers face to face with Malta’s Members of Parliament in a positive parliamentary debate about ways of improving the quality of life at schools and in the community.

In collaboration with the International organisation Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), schools follow a simple seven-step process which is driven by students. They lead an eco-committee which carries out an audit to assess the environmental performance of their respective school, and determines which environmental themes they want to address immediately and also take ownership of such issues.

The students then draw up an action plan to address the issues and implement this plan throughout their schools, informing and involving the whole school and community.  Moreover, the students draw up an eco code and monitor all processes through cross curricular activities promoting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

Trained EkoSkola teachers assist the schools’ eco-committee and work with the pupils to achieve their school’s Green Flag status – a prestigious international eco-label demonstrating the school’s commitment to fostering sustainable lifestyles.

“EkoSkola is an international award programme involving over 14 million students from 58 different countries. Through learning experiences, the students are guided to take an active role in their schools’ environmental decision-making and in their community and to become more sustainable,” said Vincent Attard, Executive President Nature Trust (Malta).

“Led by Nature Trust, EkoSkola programme has been successfully running in Malta since 2002. A good amount of work is carried out within schools to reach high standards. Through EkoSkola, many young Maltese children are promoting sustainable lifestyles at their schools and families, with the Maltese community benefitting from such initiatives,” said Miss Alexander.

EkoSkola is coordinated in Malta by Nature Trust (Malta), with support from the Ministry of Education and Employment, the Ministry for Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Change, the Ministry for Gozo, Wasteserv and HSBC Malta Foundation.