A cadre of primary and preparatory school teachers from across the island was recently exposed to training in environmental campaigning when the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) hosted them at a workshop branded ‘Stan Up! Talk Up!’

The teachers, who are coordinators in JET’s Schools’ Environment Programme (SEP), numbered 50.

“Environmental issues impact every individual and community in Jamaica,” said Suzanne Stanley, deputy CEO of JET. “As leaders in their communities, it is important that the SEP teachers and their students feel empowered to speak out about these and any other issues that they are concerned about.”

The title of the workshop was inspired by a new JET publication of the same name which focuses on advocacy and campaigning. The topics covered included principles to be applied to execute successful campaigns and tools for executing effective campaigns and advocacy. Teachers also went on a field trip to meet with local journalists and learn strategies for engaging the media.

“Previous workshops have not placed a lot of emphasis on advocacy,” said Nadia Guy of St Jago Cathedral Prep, who has been involved with SEP for the past six years. “But this year’s focus is important because…it is important for us to take a different approach to share our knowledge. We are encouraged to have our club members go out of the club environment to other schools and our wider community. The opportunity to visit the Jamaica Observer revealed to us how to work with the media to highlight our activities so that others can see how much more they can do to protect our environment.”

SEP is currently being delivered in 33 Jamaican schools, and is supported by a grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) being administered by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA). The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and several other corporate sponsors also fund the year-long programme which includes school supervision visits, student workshops, development and dissemination of environmental education materials, and a judging and awards ceremony at the end of the academic year.

JET has been operating SEP since 1997 and describes it as “Jamaica’s largest environmental education programme”. To date, SEP has been delivered in over 350 Jamaican schools, reaching some 300,000 students and 600 teachers. Participating schools carry out activities in the areas of managing garbage, greening their school grounds, strengthening or establishing an environmental club, and carrying out environmental research.