The Alliance for Sustainable Schools (TASS)

Who knew smartphones could become scientific tools for environmental conservation? 🌿📲 At our Biodiversity and Schools Summit earlier this month, CIS teacher Matt Caplin led an interactive workshop in which participants learned how to map biodiversity on their campus with the help of apps like iNaturalist and Seek — two powerful tools that use image recognition to help users identify local species — turning a walk-through building into a data-driven biodiversity mission. To enhance biodiversity in our schools, the best place to start is by using these tools to audit what's already on campus and understanding the most effective way to care for the plants and animals around us. The apps also connect us to a global community of scientists and help build a living database of life on Earth. A simple snap becomes a contribution to research, education, and awareness. Thanks to this workshop, students left empowered to protect and promote biodiversity — one observation at a time 🔍 #biodiversity #protectnature #conservation #communityofpractice

Calling all educators and sustainability enthusiasts of the TASS community! Join the next teacher's meet-up at Greenfield International School, Dubai on May 9 and at Al Dhafra Private Schools Abu Dhabi on May 16 to share best practices and discuss ways to improve nature connectedness in schools. Key highlights of the day will include: 🍃 A welcome address by Brett Girven, convenor of TASS-Middle East, on the importance of sustainability in our curriculum and the Sustainable Schools Charter 🍃 A panel discussion exploring transformative thinking – what does it mean to think with an eco–centric mindset, and how does it relate to our connectedness with nature? 🍃 Group discussions on best practices and proposed actions. What assessments can schools conduct and commit to in order to drive systems change? Don't miss out for an inspiring morning of meaningful conversations and conscious change-making. Register now: https://lnkd.in/dvgDfjMq David Evans NOSHEEN RIAZ Leigh Girven Johanna Wild Ben Hren Susanne F. David Gerber Laurence Myers Gullrukh Amal Rafiq Melisa Pubil Danielle Rooth Dr Denise Buttigieg Fiteni EdD Ian Wignall Luke McHale Matt Barker

How can schools improve their communications on campus to promote plant-based diets and encourage sustainable eating habits? 💭🤔 As part of TASS’s student ambassador program this term, students have been working on designing new collateral (think: posters, digital screens, social media posts) to foster a change in mindsets, increase the uptake of plant-based meals, and educate their peers about low-carbon food. Below is a poster designed by our ambassadors at Kellett School, The British International School in Hong Kong. They agreed on a visual comparison to encourage students to choose protein options that have a smaller carbon footprint. The message is clear – beef has the highest amount of greenhouse gas emissions per 100g of protein, equivalent to the weight of 71 ceramic plates! We love how simple yet impactful this graphic is, and look forward to seeing the other students' work in our upcoming meet-up on 24 April. Thank you to Lorelei, Austin, and Natalie for their dedication and efforts Hayley Wilson (She/Her) Laura Tyson #sustainablefood #lowcarbon #plantbased #communication

Last week our Founder and Chairman Anthony Dixon was invited to attend the 'Sustainable Economy School' Forum at the Roh Moo-Hyun Civic Center in Seoul. The event brought together stakeholders from local educational institutions and organisations to connect and share best practices on developing our youth into sustainable citizens. Anthony spoke about TASS and shared case studies of systems change in schools, and engaged in a panel discussion on the importance of education for sustainability alongside speakers from Green Hope Foundation, Korean Yangieong Middle School, and Gyeongin National University of Education. Thank you to all the organisers from 아름다운커피 Beautiful Coffee for hosting a successful event. We're so grateful to have had the opportunity to connect with schools in Korea, and look forward to building our presence in East Asia in the coming year! #sustainabilityinschools #communityofpractice #networking

At TASS, we're dedicated to accelerating the transition to a sustainable future by fostering collaboration and piloting innovative solutions across schools. As part of this commitment, we're excited to announce our new partnership with Plantaform™ – an agri-tech company at the forefront of smart indoor farming. Their flagship product, the Plantaform Smart Indoor Garden, allows students to grow fresh herbs, vegetables, and leafy greens all year round in a fully automated, app-controlled, and beautifully designed system using NASA’s Fogponics technology—an advanced irrigation method that uses 50% less water than hydroponics while increasing crop yields by 30% 🌱 Through this partnership, we will work together to pilot indoor gardens in schools in the UAE, demonstrating how smart technology can support sustainable food education, whilst connecting students with real-world sustainability solutions. This is well-aligned with the UAE's ‘Plant the Emirates’ program which aims to foster innovation, promote local produce to ensure food security, and instill a farming culture in homes and schools. Visit the TASS website and arrange an in-person demo at your school to find out more: https://lnkd.in/diWfTvWh #sustainablefood #educationforsustainability #indoorfarming #innovation

What does a 'biodiverse' school lunch look like? Take a look at this thoughtfully-curated menu by Sodexo for our Biodiversity and Schools Summit at Chinese International School | 漢基國際學校 – featuring a variety of different grains, vegetables, and plant-based protein with clear information on carbon emissions, land use, and water use for each meal 🍽️ Globally, we rely on a very small range of foods. 75% of our food supply comes from only 12 plant and five animal species. Just three (rice, maize, wheat) make up nearly 60% of calories from plants in the entire human diet! Dietary monotony, monoculture farming, and over-reliance on animal-based foods are a threat to #foodsecurity because it depletes nutrients and leaves our soil vulnerable to pests and pathogens. This, in turn, requires fertilisers and pesticides that leach into our water systems and damage wildlife. The list of Future 50 Foods was developed by Knorr and WWF to inspire greater variety in what we eat whilst promoting biodiversity in our agricultural practices. Swapping staples like white rice and potato for spelt or cilembu increases the nutrient content of a dish and contributes to making our food supply more resilient. It also helps safeguard these ancient variants for future generations. Schools have an important role to play in promoting sustainable eating habits and serving meals that are better for students and better for the planet. At the summit, an interactive pre-lunch presentation by Future Green Global | B Corp allowed students to see and feel samples of ingredients like teff, spelt, millet, and lentils – all of which added to their experience when they actually got to taste them at lunch. The lunch was an excellent demonstration of what #futureproof school meals should look like. It was not only nutritious, but also delicious and filling with a low carbon and water footprint (environmental footprinting was done using Klimato). All three meals were a hit amongst the students and teachers! Thank you once again to the team at Sodexo for making this such a memorable experience for everyone at the summit! Sean Lynch I 林澤厚 Jerry Szombathy Nadina Schneider Adrian Copeland Laurent Houdremont Anthony Dixon Emma Brady Heidi Spurrell, MSc, PGDip, BEM Colette Fox 🌱 Paul Newnham Brittany Gaie Wander Meijer Brett Girven Sonalie Figueiras - The World's Green Queen #sustainableschoolfood #biodiversity #agriculture #ecosystems

Our Biodiversity and Schools Summit at Chinese International School | 漢基國際學校 this Saturday was an astounding success. From rewilding gardens to mapping campus ecosystems, students came together with local experts for a full day of inspiring talks, hands-on workshops, and discussions on taking action for nature. We dug into bokashi compost and soil health, identified #nativespecies with iNaturalist, learned about local wildlife and marine biodiversity, planted seedlings in the garden, and enjoyed a biodiverse lunch comprising 'Future 50 Foods' that we'd never even tried before (Teff, anyone?)…thanks Sodexo! Participants took home native plants provided by Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden which will be replanted on their school campuses – a small but mighty step towards enhancing local biodiversity🪴 A huge thank you to Metanoia, Nadina Schneider, CIS student organisers, keynote speakers Wander Meijer and Andy Cornish Ph.D, and all our passionate partners and presenters Heidi Spurrell, MSc, PGDip, BEM Future Green Global | B Corp, Joshua Wolper, WWF, Rooftop Republic Urban Farming, and Kylie Moses (The ISF Academy) for contributing their valuable time and expertise. Let's get #biodiversityinschools! Emma Yip

Our Chairman, Anthony Dixon, will be speaking at the Sustainable Economy School Forum in Seoul this Thursday – an event aimed at equipping Korea's youth with education for sustainability and introducing practical, real-world examples of student-led action for sustainability in schools. The Sustainable Economy School is a youth-focused ESG innovator training program that enables teenagers to learn about sustainable economic activities, and find solutions to social issues. They explore topics related to production, consumption, labor, and disposal, identifying areas for change and actively shaping the society they aspire to live in. We look forward to connecting with local experts and educational institutions at the event! Locals interested in attending can register here: https://lnkd.in/dz7uh2S4 #sustainabilityinschools #sustainablecitizens #youthled #networking

Following up on our Behaviour Change Hackathon in the UAE this February, we invited participants to a virtual check-in to discuss their progress on their chosen behaviour change interventions with Behaven. Over 30 students and teachers from 7 schools joined to share their efforts with the group, and we're excited to share some of their updates below: 👕 At Al Ain British Academy (AABA), students successfully organised their first uniform resale event to encourage parents to donate and trade gently used uniforms to keep them in circulation for longer and reduce textile waste. 🍎 AABA's food waste team also shared their plans to introduce a 'Bingo' card game designed to prompt students to partake in environmentally-friendly actions such as bringing a package-free lunch to school, or using the compost bin. 🌱 Students at GEMS Founders School - Masdar City shared their success in growing a small-scale school garden, which has led to their first harvest and has motivated both teachers and students to continue expanding the garden. 📲 At St. Mary's Catholic High School, Muhaisnah students presented an app called SMHSM Duolingo Speak that allows them to interact and update their energy consumption streaks. The app is designed to raise awareness about energy usage and consumption. 💡 Dar Al Marefa Private School - Dubai and American School of Creative Science also shared their plans to use gamification as an intervention by implementing a points system and offering rewards to students that conserve energy on campus after the spring break. We're so proud of their dedication and the progress they've made in such a short period of time, and look forward to more updates before the end of the school year! To learn more about the Hackathon, visit: https://lnkd.in/dm2xDHNC Fred Dorsimont Lakmee Senadheera Ian Pugh Shiny Christy Denise Buttigieg Fiteni EdD Paul Dallyn (FCCT, NPQH) Danica Gariando Ison Verunque NOSHEEN RIAZ Rubina Akhtar David Gerber Nessrin Alalally Sheillie Chaudhary NPQSL

We're looking forward to hearing from Kylie Moses the story of the biodiversity garden at The ISF Academy at the #BiodiversityandSchools summit on April 5th hosted and co-organised by Chinese International School | 漢基國際學校 Kylie is a sustainability educator with years of experience all over the world in developing green school grounds and connecting students to nature. ISF's rooftop biodiversity garden (shown below) has only #nativespecies specially chosen to attract pollinators. But most school campuses are not very biodiverse. In fact, in many schools, once you pass through the front gate, you enter a world almost devoid of nature, or one where nature is deeply subordinated to considerations of maintenance and order. As we will discuss at the summit - it doesn't have to be this way. Here some images of campuses that are allowing nature in in interesting and spectacular ways: 🌺 The biodiversity garden and a resident 🦋 Painted Jezebel butterfly at The ISF Academy in Hong Kong 🌴 Oliver Ironside and Emma Brady in the biodomes at The Arbor School Dubai 🐝 An area set aside for #rewilding on the edge of Duck Lake, Western Academy of Beijing 🌴 Students at French International School of Hong Kong /Lycée Français International de Hong Kong working an biodiversity audit of their campus 🌼 The garden outside the main gate of The Arbor School Dubai 🌱 An amazing #greenwall at Dulwich College (Singapore) Join us and a line-up of really wonderful speakers and workshop leaders for a day of reflection about biodiversity and schools and learn some of the many practical things you can do to bring nature into your school campus. Register here: https://lnkd.in/dukNZw8C Emma Brady Lucy Cromwell Mashal Mush Martial JAUME Irina Mach Kylie Moses Wander Meijer Andy Cornish Ph.D Matthew Caplin Nadina Schneider Brett Girven Hannah Mainds Samuel Bleakly Emiko Ito-Gourmelen Diana Lynne Zuck I. Heidi Spurrell, MSc, PGDip, BEM WWF-Hong Kong Rooftop Republic Urban Farming Joshua Wolper Catherine Han Sheina Crystal Stephan Gale