NaDeet launches 3-year ed action

Official Launch of Three Year Environmental Education Action in Hardap Region by the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET)

The environmental education NGO, NaDEET is taking its sustainable living approach of “practice what we teach” from its Centre to the communities. Key representatives from three schools in the Hardap Region recently met with NaDEET to launch the action ‘Building Sustainable Education and Practices in Communities Through a School-centred Approach’.

The event took place at the Ministry of Education’s regional offices in Mariental on April 3rd.

Congratulations to WJD Cloete JSS, N. Mutschuana PS and Edward Frederick PS- the three Hardap Region schools that we will be working with for our community outreach project (2013-16)! We look forward to practicing sustainable living together! Photo ©NaDEET

NaDEET believes environmental education is an important tool in the successful implementation of sustainable development and protection of Namibia’s environment.

Since 2003, NaDEET has been conducting environmental education activities including NaDEET Centre 4 day programmes where participants ‘learn and live for sustainability’.

Participants learn about challenges surrounding energy, water, waste and biodiversity as associated with sustainable living and are equipped with knowledge and skills to go back home and implement these in their daily lifestyles.

Learner inspecting desert wildlife during an educational at NaDEEt.
Photo ©NaDEET

These programmes have been enthusiastically supported by schools nationwide and in particular by the Ministry of Education Hardap Region who recently wrote, “This office strongly acknowledges the excellent work that you and your entire team are doing in the best interest of our learners, and our Region at large.”

Despite all of these efforts, further follow ups and evaluation indicated that when participants are back home, the initial excitement to live sustainably is eventually forgotten and ‘they go back to their old traditional ways’.

NaDEET attempted to address this by introducing adult programmes in 2010 to the Centre as children struggled to implement what they learned when they got home and adults in the
communities asked – ‘when can we come’?

Learners washing hands before lunch Photo ©NaDEET

NaDEET was awarded a grant by the European Union of Euro 286,264 (approx. N$3 million) to support three communities. This new action builds upon our previous lessons-learned by closing the gap between NaDEET Centre and the community. After an extensive process the following three schools were selected:

N. Mutschuana Primary School (Gochas), WJD Cloete Junior Secondary School (Rietoog), and Edward Frederick Primary School (Uibes). This action places the school at the core of the community. It then branches out to include surrounding community members that have a direct connection to the school such as the parents and/or guardians of the learners, extended family members, school board members, neighbours and any other relevant stakeholder thus maximising chances of implementing sustainable education and practices.

Look! It works! Solar cooking. Photo ©NaDEET

This will be done through the three main activities of the action: NaDEET Centre programmes, integrated school-centred community outreach and environmental literacy and assessment
projects.

The schools will be supported to run their own environmental actions to improve their surroundings and quality of life. The action will run from 2014-2016. The three schools and their
communities will be fully supported to become leaders in the Hardap Region by integrating environmental learning and action taking at all ages to create a sustainable community. Smaller community level activities within this action are also co-funded by the Stichting Ontmoeting der Volkeren (COV).

An exercise in trust. Photo ©NaDEET

For more information about NaDEET and this action:

Viktoria Endjala
Environmental Educator-Outreach
vendjala@nadeet.org/ +264 81 364 8312
www.nadeet.org
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