January 31, 2020 – The Sustainability Task Force Work Group IX at Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) has partnered with e-Ecosolutions to launch the “NDU Ecovibes for Greener Schools” campaign. Several schools from across Lebanon will participate in a number of workshops to facilitate the establishment of green clubs, and work towards making them greener institutions. The project is part of the NDU Green School Certification initiative – the result of the MOU signed with e-Ecoolutions in June 2019.
In addition to e-Ecosolutions, NDU’s green club, “NDU Ecovibes,” will join with a number of other NGOs to participate in the campaign, including: Act 4 Tomorrow, AFDC, Arc En Ciel, EcoServ, Kalimat, Lebanon Green Building Council, L’Ecoute, Lebanon Reforestation Initiative (LRI), Lebanese Organization for Green Schools (LOGS), Volunteer for Lebanon (VFL).
“[The goal of this campaign is to] strengthen ties between NDU, various NGOs, and e-Ecosolutions to create a platform where resources for sustainability in environmental education can be deployed,” said Dr. Esther Ghanem, head of Work Group IX and Associate Professor at the NDU Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences.
The Antonine International School- Ajaltoun, Antonine Hadath- Baabda, Ahliah school, Ali Ben Abi Taleb school “Al Makassed”, Beirut Annunciation Orthodox College, BIC, Bauchrieh Adventist Secondary School, Broumana High School, SSCC Bikfaya, SSCC Ain Najm, Collège Notre Dame De Louaize, Collège Notre Dame Du Mont Carmel, Collège Notre Dame De Nazareth, Collège des Frères Maristes Champville, International School of Choueifat, Institut Cortbawi-SSC, Lycée Franco-libanais Nahr Ibrahim, Montana Institute of Technology and Applied Sciences, Sagesse High School, SSCC Bauchrieh, Saint Mary’s Orthodox College, St. Sauveur jeita, Tyre Community School, Val Père Jacques des Soeurs de la Croix, and St. Joseph School Kornet Chehwan, will all be involved in the campaign.
Participating schools will work towards Green School Certificates by accumulating “Green Points” over the course of the campaign based on their performance in six categories of ecological best practices. “e-Ecosolutions will maintain a file on every green school candidate, run consulting sessions on sustainable solutions, and conduct the necessary audits before issuing them with the certificate,” said Gilbert Tegho, CEO and Founder of e-Ecosolutions.
Interest in the program is proving very high, with students from various schools weighing in on the experience:
Maysam Makkouk, a student at Ahliah School, said, “We’re eager to learn about saving electricity, using less natural resources, and to plant trees to save the planet!”
“The earth is dying and we need to save it. We, the youth, need to be more environmentally aware,” said Selena Najarian and Maroun Saad, of SSCC Bauchrieh.
Commenting on the work that is already being done by NDU, NDU student and Ecovibes member, Elvis Younes, said, “NDU has already started raising awareness among students by disseminating a video on waste treatment, and prepared a monthly report on generated waste.”
“NDU Ecovibes for Greener Schools” will run throughout 2020, with the first workshop on sustainable education scheduled for February 12.