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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com Community
Nassau, Bahamas - A journey of learning and discovery began on October 15, 2014 when students and teachers of Kingsway Academy were awarded the prestigious distinction of being the pilot school for the Innovative Science “Where does the garbage go?” project. The program challenges primary school children to evaluate the amount of waste they generate, and determine its fate. The goal is to reduce the amount of home and classroom waste going into the landfill. “We are aiming to change the attitudes of students, teachers and parents towards waste management in The Bahamas. We hope to sensitize the next generation to the dangers of taking garbage disposal for granted.” says Sheena Davis, President of Innovative Science. Mrs. Kerkulah, senior mistress at Kingsway indicated “We welcome Innovative Science to share with both students and teachers exactly how we can minimize the volume of garbage being generated. We realize that garbage does not simply disappear once it leaves our campus or even our homes. As a school, we are happy to partner with Innovative Science and the U.S. Embassy with this new initiative. We want to do our part by taking care of this beautiful land that God has given to us by continuing to reduce, reuse and recycle.” Students will explore what happens when garbage leaves their classroom and their homes. The journey began in the morning chapel assembly where the children of the lower primary section of the school (grades K3-3) listened attentively while the story “Where does the garbage go?” was read by “Grammy Hepburn from Cat Island”, portrayed by Christine Hepburn from the National Literacy Services.
The project will take place in two phases and will run until June 2015. The first phase of the project involves students and teachers determining the amount of garbage being discarded in their class rooms. This will be accomplished by recording and weighing the garbage daily. The second phase involves students learning which items are recyclable in the Bahamas and which items are not. Each class room will be outfitted with its own recycle center for paper, plastic and aluminum cans. “When the recyclable items are removed from the waste stream, students and teachers will see a reduction in the volume and weight of garbage being discarded” said Mrs. Davis. Funding for this project is provided by a grant from the U.S. Embassy. “We are pleased to partner with Innovative Science to raise awareness about conservation and protecting the environment in The Bahamas. We need to elevate the environment in everything we do so supporting youth-focused conservation programs is very important to us. We applaud the efforts undertaken by students at Kingsway Academy Primary School to minimize the impact they have on the environment through proper waste management. By being more mindful of how we generate garbage and where it goes, we bring about a change of attitude that moves us one step closer to ensuring the environmental protection of this beautiful Bahamian archipelago.” says Mr. Paul Stilley, Acting Public Affairs Officer at U.S. Embassy Nassau Caribbean Bottling, Bahamas Waste and Waste Not have also partnered with Innovative Science to make this pilot project a success. Innovative Science is a company committed to providing hands on science education for students. This is accomplished through after school programs, in-class workshops, summer camps and science themed parties and shows. This project is a part of its community outreach program.
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