Ocer and Environmental Sustainability: a Learning Experience
Updated: Oct 4
For some time now, Ocer has been taking an active part in programmes and initiatives aimed at promoting sustainability and care for the environment. At the heart of this effort is the OCJC Sustainable Development Goals Club, popularly known as the Environmental Club.
Under the patronage of Mr. Atyang George, the club has been striving to place environmental issues at the heart of Ocer’s programmes and plans. Currently, the club focuses on themes such as environmental sustainability, waste management and quality education.
In an effort to make an even greater impact, the club has not shied away from establishing partnerships, creating networks and participating in learning-exchange programmes.
It is no wonder, therefore, that on September 25, Mr. Atyang, together with Ms. Aber Peace and Lamaro Nathaline Cordellia, a Senior 3 student and member of the Environmental Club, visited MST Junior School in Entebbe. The learning-exchange visit was organized by Katosi Women Development Trust, the organization that coordinates the Uganda-Saxony partnership project in Uganda.
The three Ocerians were among representatives from several schools across Uganda that had been invited to learn from one another and share knowledge on the environment, agriculture and related subjects.
Commenting on her experience, Ms. Aber Peace says the trip proved its worth as soon as she approached the MST gate. There, she found a message that left a lasting impression on her:
“If we don’t teach children agriculture, we shall raise a generation that imports food.”
From this simple message, she immediately surmised that there would be much to learn at MST—and learn she did. What, in her opinion, was unmistakable about MST is the school’s integration of environmental sustainability into its academic objectives, together with laudable strategies that concretely involve learners in their day-to-day learning activities.
Among other things, Ms. Aber learnt how to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into lesson planning through authentic assessment, the incorporation of cross-cutting issues, a multicultural approach and global partnerships.
Similarly, Mr. Atyang was very positive about his experience. He highlights the nexus between environmental sustainability, pupil and pedagogy at MST as particularly noteworthy.
According to him, the visit provided them with an opportunity to benchmark Ocer’s environmental and agricultural practices against those of the host school in areas such as biogas production, snail and fish farming, dairy farming, rainwater harvesting, rabbit rearing and banana production, among others.
The same tone is echoed by Lamaro, whose experience is narrated below. She summarizes her experience in six words:
I have been empowered to empower.
Recently, we visited MST Junior School. I didn’t expect much since I was told it was a junior school. However, no sooner had I entered the school than I encountered my first surprise. Before me was a one-hectare institution which was nonetheless buzzing with activities.
Bee-keeping and rabbit rearing welcome me
As one enters, one encounters two thriving sections: apiculture (bee-keeping) and cuniculture (rabbit rearing). In the apiculture section, I noticed that some hives were already colonized by bees, and soon enough, the school was looking forward to harvesting honey.
In cuniculture, the school rears several breeds of rabbits, including Angora, Chinchilla, New Zealand White, and Black Giant. To promote hygiene, rabbits are kept in separate cages. The rabbits are fed using troughs in their respective hutches; and water is supplied to them through pipes. This approach prevents water from mixing with urine, while the latter is either sold or used in concentrated form as an ingredient in the production of organic manure.
More surprises within the school
And then we got into the school’s central area. There, more surprises and mind-blowing experiences awaited me. I noticed that the school has a thriving snail-rearing project. I learnt that the main reason for the snail project is the extraction of slime, which can be used in the making of anti-ageing cream. The extraction of slime does not kill the snails. Rather, it irritates them, prompting them to produce slime.
Furthermore, I realized that the school prepares herbal extracts with antibacterial and antifungal properties.
As we moved around, I came across more impressive projects: fish farming, biogas production, cattle rearing, banana production, poultry farming, hydroponic farming, and piggery, to name just a few.
Projects designed as an ecosystem
More interesting, perhaps, was the realization that the projects are designed in such a way that they feed and depend on one another. For example, animal waste is used as manure in gardens as well as in the production of biogas. The gas is then transmitted to the kitchen, where it is used in the preparation of meals.
‘Black flies,’ too, have a place in this complex ecosystem. When in the larval stage, these flies are introduced into pig droppings so as to mature into maggots. The maggots are then fed to fish, birds, and the pigs themselves.
The idea of project interconnectedness was also vivid in fish farming and hydroponic farming. The fish are farmed in water containing phytoplankton whose growth is to some degree facilitated by chicken droppings. This water is regularly recycled and used to irrigate vegetables.
As regards hydroponic farming, maize, sorghum, millet, and wheat grains are nursed in a hydroponic machine. The machine supplies the germinating seeds with all the conditions necessary for germination, albeit without soil. Here, too, the products are used to feed animals such as cows and rabbits.
Laudable pedagogy
At MST, pupils are taught practical lessons. These involve taking the pupils to the garden to plant new vegetation or take care of the existing plants. In addition, pupils are taken to the science laboratory to examine cells, dissect insects, and test for the presence of chlorophyll in leaves.
ICT, too, is commendable. Pupils conduct research in a well-equipped ICT laboratory. Among other things, they get to see the physical features they study in other subjects.
Pupils are also tasked with a class project which is done during practical lessons. Concretely, learners may, for instance, take measurements, such as the space between cabbages in a garden. They can use the data to calculate the area or perimeter of a given space.
An impactful learning experience
Going to MST has engendered in me a new mindset. I saw firsthand skills and values that are worth emulating.
First, there is the inculcation of financial literacy and a saving spirit. Pupils at MST earn money through the sale of produce from their projects to the school. The revenue is divided in such a way that 5% goes to the learners, 5% goes to the school, and the rest goes to the community. The 5% that goes to the pupils is enabled by the fact that each learner has a bank account.
Second, there is the acquisition of skills through projects. I observed that by participating in projects, pupils became acquainted with various ways of making use of simple materials and objects around them for the better. I feel encouraged to do likewise. I, too, can put simple objects around me to good use while at the same time caring for the environment.
Third, I feel empowered to conserve the environment through proper disposal of waste, as well as by taking responsibility for its care, especially through proper personal conduct and sensitization.
Indeed, the ecological waste-management approach adopted by MST has taught me to make use of whatever may seem useless in my vicinity for the benefit of biodiversity.
Lastly, I feel empowered to carry out whatever activity I wish for the benefit of the environment. I am ready to make my hands dirty in order to eat clean. Yes, I must lead a healthy life.
I should never be ashamed of feeling proud of securing the future. Interestingly, even our facilitator was an English teacher, but she spoke with confidence and pride as if she did Agriculture. If her, why not me? I have been empowered to empower.
