The practice of caring for, protecting, and cherishing the environment is, for students at YCIS Shanghai, not just a topic of conversation, but a daily habit of action. Last month, students from YCIS Shanghai Regency Park and Century Park campuses dedicated an entire week to their continuous environmental stewardship.

Throughout the week, students demonstrated several creative ways to be environmentally responsible. During Litter-less Lunch, students helped remind each other to take only what they will eat, to eat all that is on their tray, and to use reusable containers for snacks and lunches. This activity was spurred on by a friendly class competition to determine which class could produce the least amount of lunch waste!

YCIS Shanghai students regularly participate in recycling programmes and are big supporters of Roots and Shoots, a charity that focuses on planting trees, so the idea to combine both eco-activities into one focus came quite naturally. Through the TREE-cycling programme, students brought in paper and cardboard for recycling, about 650 kilogrammes in total, which was then sold for processing, with all the proceeds going to purchase trees.

The students also found a creative way to combine environmentally fundraising with baked treats: a “green” bake sale! Organised and sponsored by the Secondary Student Council, an impressive RMB 2,500 yuan was raised! Using those funds, YCIS Shanghai will be able to add another 101 trees to the growing forest in Inner Mongolia, a forest which regularly receives tree donations and tree planting volunteers from YCIS. In fact, as a result of the incredible outpouring of donations during this environmentally-focused week, YCIS Shanghai is excited to be able to sponsor the school’s fifth, one thousand-tree forest in Inner Mongolia!

To bring the eventful week to a close, and to remind themselves that their environmental commitments should continue throughout the year, students gathered together for group photos at Regency Park and at Century Park. The strong feeling of community, rallying together for a unified cause, was palpable.

Mr Henricus Peters, a teacher co-sponsor of the YCIS Shanghai Ecology Action Team, led the students in reflection of the week’s activities: "The Environment Week at Regency Park – alongside Century Park– was all about re-connecting our school with the natural environment, whilst living in a metropolis. We learnt the importance of recycling, re-using, and reducing by seeing just how much 'stuff' we gathered in the TREE-cycling Project; litter-less and no-waste lunches all week; and having fun at the same time by raising money to buy plants on Green Dress Day. By being more aware of the environment, these students have grown in personal character development because they understand more how we are all citizens of Planet Earth and we all have an impact – we can all undertake positive action to help the environment. This happens at school, at home, everywhere! This is what we mean by 'Go Green!'" And during this week of active learning at YCIS Shanghai, hundreds of students stood, side-by-side, to announce for all to hear: “Go Green!”