US Virgin Islands Hotel & Tourism Association

The Virgin Islands Conservation Society is thrilled to announce the launch of the Eco-Schools program in the U.S. Virgin Islands this fall. Eight schools, seven public and one private, have signed up and will be piloting the program on St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John.

The Eco-Schools program is an educational platform, award system and environmental management structure. Eco-Schools is the world’s largest international environmental education program that engages Pre K‐12 school students, faculty, administrators and community volunteers in a comprehensive, environment‐based program to improve student environmental literacy and skills. In addition to direct environmental benefits, the program helps to dramatically improve student skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). It is also a proven framework for promoting youth leadership and community service.

Eco-Schools offers hands‐on learning opportunities and supports inquiry‐based education, critical thinking, use of technology and problem solving. The Eco-Schools model enhances content and teaching methods while engaging students in a positive transformation of their physical, social and mental learning environments, while also providing financial savings and improved aesthetics to schools and school campuses.

VICS is collaborating with a U.S. national organization, National Wildlife Federation, and an international organization, Foundation for Environmental Education, to introduce Eco-Schools to the USVI.

With support of the VICS staff, participating schools will follow a clearly laid out process and are evaluated after a period of participation, earning the Eco-School’s Green Flag upon completion. They tackle one “theme” at a time (i.e., energy, waste, food), and progress from creating an action plan to incorporating it into their curriculum to involving their community.

Eco-Schools has 25 years of demonstrated success operating in over 67 countries engaging close to 19 million pupils worldwide. Any members wishing to donate to the program, get involved or find out more are invited to contact Valerie Peters at blueflagusvi@gmail.com. To find out more about this program, click here.