Eco-conscious education for all

SRI Bestari Private School, also known as Sekolah Sri Bestari in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, has adopted Eco schools as its niche since 2012.

At the sixth International Eco Schools Conference (Iesc) held in Melaka last year, Sri Bestari had the privilege of receiving its second Green Flag Award, making it the third school in Malaysia and the only school running the national curriculum to be awarded this prestigious Green Flag for the second time.

Through the years, the Eco team at Sri Bestari has forged a close relationship with the community since it first adopted Eco as an agenda to champion.

The official and unofficial networks formed with non-governmental organisations, commercial and non-commercial entities as well as schools have seen tremendous collaboration and sharing of Eco best practices for teachers, students, parents and the community at large.

The past year saw numerous requests for visits from institutions in Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Japan, as well as local schools.

Sri Bestari has graciously opened its doors to welcome all of them, as the sharing of ideas often brings new knowledge and helps spark new initiatives.

The theme for the sixth Iesc was Waste Management and Biodiversity, where participants consisting of students and teachers from Eco schools in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand were exposed to various aspects of the impact felt in improper waste management, which has a profound effect on the nature and biodiversity, particularly marine life.

Organised field trips were also part of the Iesc and students had a chance to experience commercial sustainable best practices, which was an eye-opener to many.

Part of the school’s Eco activities is the annual declaration of a specific theme to guide the school community towards a particular focus.

In 2015, the theme adopted was the Environmental Performance Index EPI and in 2017, it was Eco Tourism. This year’s theme will be Eco Products.

Under the programme, each class is assigned a specific country for students to conduct research based on the theme and display their findings in their respective classes, which are stretched over an eightmonth period.

Many go the extra mile to engage the respective embassies for assistance or forge links directly with certain organisations from the assigned country to help them further understand their theme challenge.

■ Contact Sri Bestari Private School at 03-6275 5888 for more details on kindergarten, primary and secondary programmes, or log on to www.sribestari.edu.my