Overview

The Education Initiative for Water (EIW) aims at building the capacity of teachers and students to develop an ethic of responsibility towards the environment through community-based projects. Designed as part of WWF China’s Environmental Educators’ Initiative, EIW focuses specifically on primary and middle school students in Beijing and introduces an alternative to the current educational system in the form of student-centered, active learning through real world problem-solving and community service.

The theme of water was chosen for the project, as water management is an important city issue. EIW addresses water issues in Beijing by encouraging young students to take the initiative to care for their physical and social environment. More importantly, EIW creates a learning environment in which young students can apply theory to real life, whilst simultaneously acquire self-confidence, greater capacity, and a sense of stewardship towards their environment and community.

Currently, seven primary and middle schools in Beijing serve as pilot schools in this project. These schools, though scattered throughout Beijing, are all near to water - some along the city moat, close to lakes, or by the Miyun reservoir in the suburbs of Beijing.

Project progress

2001
In the project’s first year, organizational and teacher-training work was the main focus of the initiative for the pilot schools involved. This helped to create a foundation based on partnerships. In the second half of the year, a series of sub-projects were designed by and conducted in the pilot schools.

2002
In year two, initial student participation was the main focus. Stressing a “real world” approach, students observed their environment, rediscovered some of the history and traditions of the area, identified problems, and took actions towards solving those problems. In November 2002, WWF organized a study tour to Hong Kong for teachers to meet colleagues involved in similar initiatives. This encouraged some schools to develop their project activities further towards a school-based curriculum.

2003
In year three, students continued prior experiments, sharing their findings through community education, taking measurements, and comparing with previous results. Additionally, further training was provided to teachers to develop a school-based curriculum based on previous work they conducted with the project.

2004 and beyond
Fourth year activities include the development of a comprehensive handbook for schoolteachers on developing school-based curricula; sharing a collection of case studies and activity plans with a wider audience; and enlarging the project scope to rural schools in Qinghai province.

The impact of EIW

On students

• Improvement in classroom performance
• Exposure of abilities not highlighted by traditional teaching methods
• Students more active, responsive and articulate
• Students understanding the connectivity between different subjects
• Understanding responsibilities through student-student mentoring
• New learning approaches made learning easier
• Given the chance for an authoritative voice in the community

• Acquiring new or improved skills for the classroom
• An increase of job satisfaction and enjoyment of teaching
• Engaging in the interdisciplinary teaching techniques promoted by China’s Basic Education reform
• A better relationship with their students, looking at learning from the student’s rather than teacher’s perspective

• Codes of practice for water use Most schools have run school and/or community campaigns to increase awareness of the need to conserve and manage the use of resources.
• Providing baseline data on Beijing’s watershed At the start of the project there was little publicly available baseline data on water quality. The students themselves are creating baseline data on the state of the watershed – and in at least one case, publishing it.
• Successfully campaigning to relocate a polluting factory Ya’er Hutong School students have successfully campaigned for the relocation of a soy sauce factory, after local residents identified water pollution from the factory as an important concern.
• Monitoring an emissions code of practice Ya’er Hutong School also negotiated a code of conduct on emissions with the entertainment business association of a popular recreational area around Beijing’s Three Lakes. The students are now monitoring the code’s implementation.
• Devising biological solutions to an algae-infested lake At Taoranting Park, experts from Qinghua University had recommended chemical treatment for the persistent algae bloom in the lakes, but Number 15 school students have devised a possible alternative biological management solution.
• Park zoning to minimize environmental disturbance One pilot school has proposed zoning of a Beijing park so that leisure activities that create the most disturbance to the environment could be limited to specific areas.

'Through this project, I learned a lot about the city moat. More importantly, I learned how to learn.'
- Yin Rui, Dongzhimen Middle School

'Through the activities this semester, I learned a lot that could not be learned in the classroom.'
- Liu Qian, No.15 Middle School

'While talking with people during our Beijing history investigation, I learned how to talk to people and how to accept it when somebody said 'NO!'.'
- Yan Rui, No. 11 Middle School

'I learned that even mosquitoes can be beautiful - their young are part of the chain of life for our project’s water ecosystem.'
- Zhou Mianjiao, No.11 Middle School

Donor

Novib

For further information:

Zhang Yi, Programme Officer, WWF China Programme. Tel 6522-7100. Email: yzhang@wwfchina.org


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