BISA is fighting climate change - please join us!

“There is still so much in the world worth fighting for. So much that is beautiful, so many wonderful people working to reverse the harm, to help alleviate the suffering. And so many young people dedicated to making this a better world. All conspiring to inspire us and to give us hope that it is not too late to turn things around, if we all do our part.”

—  Dr. Jane Goodall’s New Year Message For 2018

At BISA we believe that many tiny changes can make all the difference. Here are some of the changes happening at BISA as we play our part in the fight against climate change:

1. Sustainable Events: You may have noticed that we have replaced bottled water at events with filtered water in jugs. By replacing buying bottled water with filtered water, we are reducing our plastic waste from events immensely. Within our daily school activities, our students and staff use refillable water bottles so this is a natural next step for our events. Please keep this in mind at future events at BISA and bring a refillable water bottle instead of buying bottled water at the bar. 
2. Recycling Bins: Our Junior Dragon students are often at the forefront of tiny changes around the school as part of their Community Service award. Inspired partly by BISA's paticipation in World Clean Up Day, outside classrooms in Primary there are now three labelled bins: one for paper; one for plastic; one for organic waste. Year 4 have been focussing on caring for our environment and are creating a beautiful garden next to our new library. Part of their project involves recycling plastic waste to turn it into a shade over the garden, and collecting organic waste to make compost for the soil. With snack times and fruit breaks throughout the day in Primary, there is plenty of organic waste to be used - what a fantastic idea!
3. Glass Recycling: BISA events generate a lot of glass waste but, don't worry, we are already making sure we recycle. Glass bottles that can be returned, cleaned and refilled at manufacturers are collected, and glass that cannot be returned is donated to Shanga, who recycle them into glassware, jewellery and houseware while giving skills training to disabled people in the community.
4. Tree-planting: Our recent tree-planting day, in collaboration with Roots and Shoots,  helped replace many trees in our community and it is something we intend to continue doing around the Mateves and Kisongo area over the coming years.
5. Fuel Consumption: Powering two school sites and transporting hundreds of children to and from school every day uses a significant amount of fuel. In addition to our daily practise of switching off lights and electrical equipment when not in use, as well as using more fuel-efficient bus routes, every year, BISA off-sets it's carbon footprint by buying carbon offsets with Carbon Tanzania and protecting forests here in Tanzania.

Please continue to support BISA as we consider our impact on the environment. What tiny changes can you make?