Fiji

Hub Achievement Report July 2015

Sustained Environmental Education - Moturiki
A key objective of the GVI Fiji Marine Conservation Programme is to work alongside local youth to
promote environmental awareness and sustainable practices. Working across 2 schools in the Mo-
turiki District, GVI Fiji aims to inspire and instill a sense of stewardship in students through designing
fun and engaging activities as platforms for learning. The Environmental Education Program endeav-
ors to enrich the education provided and broaden opportunities for the pupils.

In consultations with the teachers of Moturiki District School and Uluibau Primary School, GVI devel-
oped an environmental education curriculum. Its not Waste till you Waste it, Sustainable Seas and
Clean and Green, Healthy and Happy contribute to GVIs broader objective to empower communi-
ties to sustainably manage waste and natural resources and promote child health. These learning

objectives are delivered through a series of GVI-led lessons at both schools. To aid and reinforce learning, games and activities were designed on each topic.

During Term 1 & 2, the first theme, Its Not Waste Til you Waste it, addressed waste management
which has an immense impact on the marine ecosystem. After carrying out surveys which highlight-
ed poor waste management practices, GVI recognised the need to assist Moturiki District to better
manage their waste. Student in classes one to four, focussed on waste sorting and sustainable envi-
ronmental disposal methods, whilst classes five to eight focused on decomposition rates, ecosystem
interconnectivity (ridge to reef approach), food webs and bio-accumulation.

Figure 1- MDS students make a food web.

In term 3, the second topic, Clean and Green, Healthy and Happy aims to address healthy living.
GVI anticipates that by teaching children to live a clean and green healthy lifestyle, an environmental
friendly habit will follow. The main objective of this topic is to develop understanding of the im-
portance of WaSH, healthy eating and exercise for healthy and happy individuals. Within this theme,
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good water management practices are being taught, which will eventually lead to increasing access
to continual safe drinking water and appropriate sanitary disposal systems.

These lessons were designed to complement awareness and community outreach carried out in the
various Moturiki villages by the government. One of the most effective projects implemented in the
schools was the Tippy Taps which are simple handwashing stations designed to encourage children
to wash their hands more often.

Figure 2 - Uluibau students use tippy-taps for the first time.

The final topic to be taught, Sustainable Seas, is a core fundamental theme when dealing with ma-
rine conservation. It addresses ways in which Moturiki District could better manage their marine
resources by employing sustainable fishing practices and other marine management tools, such as a
marine protected area (MPAs). GVI hopes that by teaching students from a young age about marine
conservation issues, a better informed community will develop, enabling the members to make clear
and informed decisions when managing their marine resources.

The Fiji Green Growth Framework 2014 which complements the Peoples Charter for Change, is a
document adopted by the Fijian Government as a roadmap for Democracy and Sustainable Econom-
ic Development. The Green Growth Framework focuses on rebalancing three pillars of sustainable
development for Fiji - Environment, Social and Economic. It is important to note that all topics cov-
ered in the GVI Environmental Education program complement this framework and are contained
within the thematic areas 2 (Waste Management), 3 (Sustainable Island and Ocean Resources) and 6
(Freshwater Resources and Sanitation Management)

GVI has had positive feedback from both schools, where not only awareness of the importance of
sustainable living is growing week by week, but the children are also benefitting from the extra in-
teractions in English, with teachers observing an increased use of vocabulary and understanding.

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Looking towards future school terms, GVI plans to further develop the Environment Education Pro-
gram based on the thematics of the Green Growth Framework with a focus on Restoring the Bal-
ance in Development that is Sustainable for Our Future.

Figure 3 MDS students listening to a GVI volunteer about sustainability

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Figure 4 MDS students using their new tippy-tap.

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Figure 6 MDS students learning to sort out waste.