Celebrating a Sustainable Campus on Earth Day

In Tanzania, Earth Day falls during the long rainy season when the land is green and lush and SEGA students are working with staff to plant more flowers and trees around bushes and pathways to beautify the campus. Along with planting, SEGA also demonstrates its commitment to protecting the environment and teaching students the importance of caring for our natural resources by using renewable energy and water sources as much as possible and utilizing organic gardening techniques. Our buildings are equipped with solar panels and we use a rain catchment system to meet many of our water needs. SEGA also composts and is in the process of implementing a more robust compost and recycling program once all of the infrastructure (various bins and recycling areas) are built and in place, thanks to support from Friends of Tanzania.

The SEGA staff have received compost training with help from Fundacion Paraguaya, and are passing on this knowledge to the students. This year they will be teaching the SEGA girls about waste management through action as the school rolls out the recycling and composting program across the campus. The program will include a composting structure near the garden to make it easier for the organic waste from the kitchen and across campus to be used for the school’s two organic vegetable gardens.

SEGA will also add more trash, recycling, and compost bins around campus and in the classrooms so all members of the SEGA community can dispose of items more appropriately and sustainability. For the trash and recyclables, the school will have another partitioned structure for metal or glass, paper, and plastics, that will serve as the main collection bin for all the materials around campus that will be picked up by external trash collectors.

The ultimate goal is for waste to be separated into plastics, metals, compost, and trash, and disposed of or recycled to ensure a clean, environmentally-friendly campus. We hope that this practice of recycling will also be shared beyond the campus.

We look forward to keeping you updated!

– Shanna Keown, Nurturing Minds Advisor and Blog Contributor