Green Education:

Students at this international school are getting out of the classroom and getting their hands dirty!

Inside Stamford’s outdoor initiatives

Biodiversity and ecology are hot topics right now, particularly among young people. The students at Stamford American International School are taking classroom theory and applying it to real life with some exciting tree-planting initiatives, such as the Rare Tree Forest.

The number of students showing an interest in these projects continues to grow, while the opportunity for involvement is gaining traction throughout the school community too. Here, we take a look at two examples of eco-driven learning that Stamford students are embracing – one outside the school and one on campus.

Meeting Dr Jane Goodall

This project was spearheaded by the students in Grade 9 Field Studies. They were already learning about re-forestation from their Field Studies programme in Chiang Mai, when the opportunity to engage other students was presented with the visit of Dr Jane Goodall to Singapore.

Through its Roots & Shoots club, Stamford was lucky enough to bring 14 students from Grades 5 to 10 to plant trees with the world-renowned conservationist. After the planting session with Dr Goodall, they visited Elango Velautham, head of the Singapore Botanic Garden’s Plant Resource Centre, to learn more about how to develop their project back at school.

Since then, a group of students has visited the nursery to learn more from Mr Velautham about how to apply the principles of ecology in a practical way outside the classroom. Stamford plans to keep bringing students to the gardens on a regular basis; they’ll continue to learn about the nursery with a view to applying their skills to make a similar impact in the Rare Tree Forest they are growing at school.

In their own backyard

The Stamford Garden Club has been showing initiative by taking over the watering and caretaking of the Rare Tree Forest, as well as maintaining the nursery area. They’re working as a team to keep the forest and nursery fit for use by science classes in our curriculum. Currently, the focus is on soil mixing, measuring the pH of the soil, and seeds and plant growth. These projects combined help students to form an understanding of ecological literacy and the everyday impact that we have on our world.

The school says that it’s encouraged by the way the students have been interacting and cooperating on the project, and engaging in reallife learning experiences. And the momentum is growing throughout the school. For example, Stamford’s Interact Club, made up of students from Grades 9 to 12, is eager to get involved with project managing, communications and fundraising to help keep the garden flourishing, and to support the next phases of development involving students from Elementary to High School.