TO BE AN ECO-SCHOOL IS A BIG RESPONSIBILITY! – INTERVIEW WITH THE DIRECTOR OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ‘MIRCE ACEV’
With the numerous projects directly are engaged and informed, above all, the students and the parents, and then the teachers who started to select the waste and think together and talk about ecology, the illegal landfills, the future challenges of the planet Earth and how cleverly to select the waste to get a cleaner planet, cleaner air, healthier food and cleaner school.
Elementary School “Mirce Acev”, in the municipality of Gjorce Petrov, nine years in a row confirms the status of eco-school. This is the highest international recognition in education in the field of ecology and protection of the environment, granted by the international organization “Green School” as a part of the program “We do not have reserve planet “, supported by NGO OHO and the Ministry of Education and science of Macedonia, and this year in cooperation with the Organization for waste management “Pakomak”.
How the ecological story of the elementary school “Mirce Acev” begins?
Our eco-story started in 2008 year with the attendance at the training for eco-school. Here we got the first information and directions how our school can be included in the international network of eco-schools. After the first training we have realized all the foreseen steps of the program, we applied for highest eco recognition “Green flag “and we won it. Since then, each year in a row we devotedly work on realization of the seven steps from the program, and as a confirmation of our successful work is the recognition for OOU “Mirce Acev” – eco-school, saysthe director of the school Goce Bocevski.In the past nine years as members of the network of eco-schools in Macedonia, in our school we have realized several projects: we got three bikes, equipment and ramp parking bicycles, with the project “Rational use of electric and other heat energy ” the exterior metal doors from the school were replaced with new ones Aloplast-doors, with the project “Less electricity – more light” damaged and non-functional lights were replaced with new, through the project “Water drop – sea greenery” we reconstructed the system for watering of the school yard, with project “Every drop of water a little wealth ” the taps in the school were replaced with a sensor energy saving fountains – explains Bocevski.
In the realization of the projects the students have the greatest contribution
About the achievements in the field of environmental protection we also received an invitation to participate with four our students at the Climatic students’ camp in Denmark in December 2009 year, while as a reward for the made artwork of natural material 10 our students with teachers- mentors attended the eco camp “Ponikva 2012”. We joined in Worldwide Saving Campaigns energy and water. In the project eco pack for making artistic piece of consumable carton-packaging on “Life in the Forest”, “The Owl” our students won the first place at the republic level. The prize of this project we invested in another project “We are researching, presenting – we act ecologically “and we improved the realization of the ecological activities through greater visibility and technical equipment of the eco club – cabinet for biology – says Bocevski.
Cooperation with Pakomak
In cooperation with “Pakomak” several years in a row we are winners of numerous awards within project, which aims to raise the hygiene level in the schools, while as a replacement of the collected plastic bottles we receive a donation, liquid soap according to the needs. This is a great motivation for our children for selecting packaging waste as well education about the benefits of recycling. Within this successful action, 60 elementary schools were included from six municipalities: Kisela Voda, Karpos, Aerodrom, Gjorce Petrov, Center and Gazi Baba and by that more than 1.5 million plastic bottles or more than 40 tones plastic waste were collected, and were taken to recycling.With the numerous projects directly are engaged and informed, above all, the students and the parents, and then the teachers who started to select the waste and think together and talk about ecology, the illegal landfills, the future challenges of the planet Earth and how cleverly to select the waste to get a cleaner planet, cleaner air, healthier food and cleaner school.At the same time, we were part of the 3D project eco-bus for students from first to the fifth grade. The students were, really, thrilled by the 40- minute interactive 3D training with lecture, projection of 3D film and with game-test with an interactive system connected with the audience, which it was carried out within the ecological bus, positioned near the school – explains Bocevski.
Eco-labeling should be earned, we continue in the future with new challenges
In 2017, we realize several campaigns: for collection spent batteries, plastic packaging, e-waste, and our biggest goal was by the end of the year to collect 250 kg of plastic caps in the humanitarian and ecological project “One Cap – One Hope” and on that way to help where it is most needed. We managed!
