National Search for Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Schools FAQs
The National Search for Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Schools is being implemented by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, through the Environment Management Bureau together with the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Smart Communications Inc. as part of DENR’s response to Republic Act No. 9512 (An Act to Promote Environmental Awareness through Environmental Education), which requires all public and private schools to integrate environmental education in their curricula at all levels. The nationwide contest was organized to recognize efforts of various schools to undertake eco-friendly programs and activities.
Sustainable and Eco-Friendly schools may be described as environment-friendly schools that have initiated and integrated in their instruction, research, extension and/or administration, programs which are environment-related. A wide variety of environmental initiatives on the following areas can be adopted in pursuit of sustainable eco-friendly schools:
- developing environmental policies for the school
- physical cleanliness, orderliness and beautification of the school
- energy conservation and demand management
- water conservation/water management (maintenance of potable water)
- paper conservation/paper recycling
- waste reduction, waste segregation, recycling and composting
- air, water and soil pollution control
- seedling production/vegetable gardening and marketing
- reforestation and/or nursery establishment
- establishment of a botanical garden
- herbarium
- establishment of bio-park
- environmental audits of school’s operations and facilities
- integration of environmental themes into the school curriculum
- conduct of in-service environmental training for faculty members
- development of environmental support instructional materials
- offering of environmental degrees/certificate programs
- environment and natural resource-related research works and studies
- linkages and exchanges on the environment with the following sectors: national government agencies, non-government organizations, religious organizations, local government units, business and industry sector, among others
- environmental awareness and community education
- holding of green fairs and environmental exhibits/sale of green products
- holding of seminars and/or conferences/symposia
- holding of eco-tours or ecological destinations
- healthy lifestyle campaigns
- climate change adaptation and mitigation programs
The contest aims to:
- encourage schools/academic institutions to become more actively involved in environmental issues at a practical and local level; and
- develop skills and understanding among the students, faculty and school administrators in initiating active responses and increasing community awareness and participation on environmental concerns.
The search is open to both the public and private schools nationwide, in the following categories: elementary, high school, and tertiary school levels. Where a school has more than one level of education, the school shall be eligible for only one entry.
Participating schools are required to submit the following documents in THREE (3) sets:
- Official Contest Entry Form
- Supporting Documents (Consists of all the supporting material that show evidence of the school’s environment efforts and programs. It can include the following:
- memoranda, circulars, special orders
- photos of environmental programs of the school
- videos of school’s environment activities (limit to 5 minutes)
- publications and design work
- copies of certificates, merit awards for environment programs
Be selective with the supporting documents. Pick work samples that best represent the school entry, rather than sending every item.
- Digital Entry – Save digital copies of the Official Contest Entry Form and the Supporting Documents on a CD-ROM. Label properly.
Assemble your school entry (Official Entry Form and Supporting Documents) in a folder and label with “Sustainable and Eco-friendly Initiatives of (NAME OF SCHOOL)”
The Official Contest Entry Form can be downloaded from this site or from the EMB website.
- For elementary and high school categories, entries should be submitted directly to their respective DepEd Division Offices.
- For the college category, entries should be submitted to the nearest EMB Regional Office.
The deadline for the submission of entries is on April 29, 2011.
Selected entries from the elementary and high school will be submitted to the EMB Regional Offices by the DepEd Division Offices by July 4, 2011. Entries will be screened by a core group consisting of representatives from EMB, DepEd, CHED, SMART and/or other partners at the regional level. The core group will also handle actual assessment and other documentation for the schools that will be shortlisted. Representatives from the core group may also check the veracity of documentation submitted.
Entries for all categories will be evaluated based on:
Environment-related Aspects of the School’s Policy
20
Environment-friendly School Operations and Presence of Environmental Programs
30
Environment-related Features of the School Curriculum
30
Presence of Vibrant Eco Organizations in Campus
10
Presence of Partners and Linkages in Environment Programs/Projects
10
Selected entries from the elementary and high school will then be submitted to the EMB Regional Offices by the DepEd Division Offices by July 4, 2011. Entries will be screened by a core group consisting of representatives from EMB, DepEd, CHED, SMART and/or other partners at the regional level. The core group will also handle actual assessment and other documentation for the schools that will be shortlisted. Representatives from the core group may also check the veracity of documentation submitted. The decision of the Board of Judges, to be composed of noted individuals in the areas of environmental education, coming from the government, private sector and civil society at the regional and national levels, shall be final and irrevocable.
Regional Level. There will be one regional finalist per category. Each will be awarded a Certificate of Recognition Award and a P10,000 cash prize.
National Level. Regional finalists shall compete at the National Level. Judging will be held at the the EMB Central Office.
Prizes for the competition, at the national level, are the following:
College Category
First Prize P50,000.00
Second Prize P40,000.00
Third Prize P30,000.00
High School Category
First Prize P50,000.00
Second Prize P40,000.00
Third Prize P30,000.00
Elementary School Category
First Prize P50,000.00
Second Prize P40,000.00
Third Prize P30,000.00
Winners shall be notified by the EMB Central Office by October 2011 thru phone, fax, mail or e-mail.
Regional finalists should submit exhibit-ready materials of their entry by August 12, 2011 following the format below:
- Material: Tarpaulin. Dimensions: 2 feet wide x 5 feet high tarpaulin, without eyelets at the four edges
- Content: Tarp design should feature the environment efforts and programs of the school. Design should include the title “Sustainable Eco-friendly Initiatives of (NAME OF SCHOOL)”.
All winning entries for each of the three categories, together with selected entries, will be displayed during the national awarding ceremonies to be held in November 2011, in time for the National Environmental Awareness Month celebration.
For inquiries, please contact the Secretariat at the Environmental Education and Information Division, EMB-DENR, 2nd Floor, HRD Bldg., DENR Compound, Visayas Ave., Diliman, Quezon City, Telefax nos. 928-46-74 or 920-22-51 or via email at ecofriendlyschools@gmail.com.
The contest mechanics, news, and updates are also posted in this website and in the EMB Website.
