WWF - Thailand and IKEA Thailand kicked off a new partnership,

joining forces to support the “Eco-Schools Program”

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"Thailand has been challenged with a lot of environmental problems. And there is no better place to start fixing the problems than with the power of children. IKEA believes that ECO School Program can make a difference as it does involve leadership and creativity of young students. We can see lots of students cracking their heads together with adults figuring out what they could do better to improve the school environment and community nearby; water saving, school cleanliness, waste sorting, recycling, etc. The students themselves lead these projects and that is the beauty of the program. Not only these groups of students do have an opportunity to better the environment but they also embark on learning real life skills; organizing, leading, public  speaking, problem solving, working together. These are important skills for them to strive in the very near future."
 
Sirin Atsilarat
Local Marketing & Sustainability Manager, IKEA Bangna

WWF - Thailand and IKEA Thailand kicked off a new partnership, joining forces to support the “Eco - Schools Program”. This program aims to promote environmental and sustainability education among local school children, with over 20 participating schools in the area of Bangkok, Sumut Prakarn, Nonthaburi, and Phuket.

WWF - Thailand represents the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) as the national operator of the Eco - Schools Program in Thailand, creating new initiatives and developing policies. The program prompts schools to enhance curriculum and activities for environmental management in their schools and communities. The students are empowered to lead and take actions towards environmental sustainability with guidance and support from parents, teachers and people living in the community. The goal is to make students into better leaders of an environmentally responsible community by helping them integrate and work together with their communities.

“The critical environmental issue of our school is food waste from the canteen, so we have created  the Eco Food Project to raise awareness and interest among students in our school and encourage everyone to reduce waste food by finishing everything on their plates. Next month, we plan to adapt our activity by having students sit together as a group at lunch tables, and when they leave the tables there will be no food on any plates.” Wanwila Kamphol who is the student leader from Wat Thong Samrit School, expresses her determination to reach the zero food waste in her school.

The Eco - Schools Program is currently being implemented in participating schools. WWF - Thailand and IKEA Thailand plan to continue supporting the Eco - Schools Program to further develop existing activities with schools and to help them achieve their goal of environment and waste management. The program is expected to raise awareness and interest to students in environment and waste management, and make them leaders in an environmentally responsible society of the future.