SCHOOLS GREEN CHALLENGE (SGC) 2017-2018

A collaborative initiative between Kenya Organization for Environmental Education (KOEE) and Micro-Enterprises Support Programme Trust (MESPT)

Background

MESPT partnered with KOEE to implement the pilot phase of the Challenge using the Eco-schools platform from September 2017. The Ministry of Education (MOE) Directorate of Policy, Partnerships and East Africa Affairs was also involved as technical partner. Eco-schools objective is similar to that of the Schools Green Challenge but an additional component on entrepreneurship was emphasized which was believed would add value to the existing primary school curriculum.

Purpose

To inculcate a greening culture to youth in schools by mentoring and engaging them in hands-on green growth initiatives for sustainability of communitiesS

Twelve primary schools across six counties (2 schools per county) were selected to participate in “The Schools Green Challenge” Competition. The 2017 pilot project was implemented in 6 counties that include the following:

1.	Bomet County	4.	Kisumu County
2.	Embu County	5.	Makueni County
3.	Kirinyaga County	6.	Kwale County

The Schools Green Challenge Competition

All the 12 schools involved in the SGC were engaged in a competition to show case most innovative, socially impactful green project/ enterprises initiatives. The competition started after the teachers from the schools were taken through a training session on the components and criteria. The criterion was jointly developed by KOEE, MESPT and MOE. The 12 schools were then subjected to a judging process by KOEE, MESPT and MOE with the winners announced at the 4^thNational Green Growth Conference & Exhibition held at KICC in July 2018. The schools that were awarded were;

• Makini School Kibos – Winner
• St. Theresa’s Primary School (Bomet) – 1^strunners up
• Mutulani Primary School (Makueni) – 2^ndrunners up

The three schools were awarded with the following:

• A trophy for the school 
• Certificate of participation 
• Momentary awards to start or expand their ideas for income generation for the school
• Sponsored attendance to the 4th Green Growth Conference

Participating schools Green Initiatives

School( County)		Initiatives (KOEE Themes)
St. Theresa’s Boarding Primary School (1st runners up) Bomet County	B	Organic farming; Dairy cow farming; Traditional poultry farming; Biogas production; Water harvesting
Bambanik Primary School Bomet County		Vegetable farming (beans, indigenous vegetable, pumpkins); Water harvesting
Kamuthatha Boarding Primary School  Embu County		Livestock rearing (Dairy cow, Poultry, Bee keeping, Fish farming); Water harvesting [Livestock]
Nembure Primary School  Embu County		Rabbit/Poultry keeping; poultry keeping; banana/onion farming & Bead work; Water harvesting
Arch-bishop Gitari Boarding Primary School  Kirinyaga County		Fish farming, dairy cow rearing, pig rearing, Bee keeping; horticulture; Tea, Water harvesting
Gakuu Primary School  Kirinyaga County		banana farming, sweet potato farming, indigenous vegetables & basketry
Mutulani Primary School (2nd runners up) Makueni County		Sack/kitchen gardening (kales); Water harvesting, Tree nursery development,
Watema Primary School  Makueni County		Gardening (kales, peas); commercial banana growing; Water harvesting, fodder production
M’bweka Primary School  Kwale County		Agroforestry & Waste management, tree nursery development
Waa Primary  School Kwale County		Agroforestry & Waste management, tree nursery development
Makini School – Kibos (Winner) Kisumu County	Kisumu	Rabbit/Poultry keeping; Vegetable farming, Tree (fruit) nursery development, Greenhouse farming
St. Francis Primary School Kisumu County		Dairy cow farming; Poultry farming; Greenhouse farming (tomatoes), vegetable farming

Achievements

The major outcomes of the pilot were: 

• The development of the Green Enterprise Development (GED) Teacher’s Guidebook for Schools in Kenya.
• 22 teachers from 12 schools trained on Green Enterprise Development (GED) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
• 12 Schools established Green Growth Clubs.
• Tree planting awareness campaigns in 12 schools held.
• The Schools Green Challenge Competition and winners awarded prizes and showcased at the 4^thNational Green Growth Conference in July 2018.