It’s invigorating to discover that more school communities are getting to the business end of the environmental cause.
Let’s start with the name: Roots & Shoots; it is an organization founded by the remarkable Jane Goodall, a renowned anthropologist, primatologist and UN Messenger of Peace. The purpose of the organization is to bring together educational institutions to tackle issues on the environmental, conservation and humanitarian sectors. There are now approximately 8,000 local chapters of Roots & Shoots in the world.
One of the chapters of Roots & Shoots is right in our backyard, just north of Sanur in a school called Dyatmika. Sekolah Dyatmika’s Roots & Shoots program aims to be a little bit kinder to the Earth, one tetra pack at a time. They do this by working together with Eco Bali Recycling, a recycling and composting scheme passionate in environmental education.
The school’s Roots & Shoots club gives post-consumer beverage containers/cartons — like those used for soda, juice, and milk — to Eco Bali, which later they turn into roofing materials. A living, breathing example of the finished roofing product can be seen at the Little Tree Bali, a shop for sustainable living solutions on Sunset Road.
Dyatmika’s Roots & Shoots program works hard in raising awareness on environmental causes internally in the school and outside, as well as recently holding a recycle sale, proceeds of which went to BAWA (Bali Animal Welfare Association). The school recycles, uses washed cloth instead of tissues for hand-washing and actively encourages students to carpool to school in order to reduce carbon footprints. Roots & Shoots in this school extends from the primary years all the way to high school.
It truly is a team effort of the Roots & Shoots program, the whole school community, and several organizations on the island to carry out these actions and to be responsible citizens of the Earth. After all, it’s the only place with candy!