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This week half of the group was absent, rehearsing for the Primary Talent Show but those students who came enjoyed an afternoon under the sun, learning how to plant lilies outdoors, to prepare the flower beds that will attract pollinators to the vegetable garden and green peppers indoors in the green house, to help them grow faster.
Thank you Permaculture Year 12 gardeners and Nathan for a great lesson!

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Eco-Week Action 4: Learn where to throw your trash correctly

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Eco-Week Action 4: Learn where to throw your trash correctly

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Are you ever in doubt? Do you know how to dispose of your waste correctly at UWC Maastricht? Have a look at these slides to Recycle the Right Way at our school! *Please note that AT OUR SCHOOL metal must now be thrown in the residual waste bin (gray) and not the orange one. This is because our waste management company (Renewi) no longer collects PMD and now metals get separated from the residual waste by some big magnets in place at the sorting warehouses.

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Eco-Week Action 3: Fill in your/your kids Carbon Footprint for this school year

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Eco-Week Action 3: Fill in your/your kids Carbon Footprint for this school year

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As all UWC schools now have to report their climate impact and we explore ways to reduce it, we invite all Primary parents and Secondary students and staff to complete an easy form to  provide the Carbon Footprint Monitoring service team with their transport and diet preference (only Secondary students, if they eat sometimes mensa food or the burgers from the Blue Truck) data for this school year (2022-2023).
Links will be sent to the concerned groups next week and via the newsletter.

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Eco-Week Action 2: Check weekly the Lost&Found online catalogue 

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Eco-Week Action 2: Check weekly the Lost&Found online catalogue 

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Check weekly the Lost&Found online catalogue for any items you/your children might have lost (a student service team works almost daily on processing lost&found items) and claim them before the shown deadline for that specific item (always before 3PM on Thursdays!).
Help us to help you by name tagging your belongings!

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Eco-Week Action 1: Name tag your clothes and belongings

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Eco-Week Action 1: Name tag your clothes and belongings

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On this Eco-Week in which students will be looking more carefully at their Sustainability daily practice, please name tag your clothes/your children's clothes (and do it with them) so that they can be returned to you/your children if misplaced and you don’t have to buy new ones unnecessarily.
Remember always to add (at least) first name initial AND full surname since unfortunately, 2 initials only tagged in an item are useless for us in a school with over 900 students. If you tag properly the whole process of identifying your lost item is made easier for us and faster for you to have your items back.
Thank you!

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If you are growing indoor or outdoor plants and would like to donate the spare ones, your opportunity is here next week from Tuesday 18 April outside/inside the ground floor corridor between Primary and Secondary. Year 13 student Mikhas has built a trolley for this purpose as part of his Design Technology portfolio. Please bring the plant/s you wish to donate on Tuesday morning. Everybody looking for a new plant for their home or garden is welcome to take one of the donated plants in the trolley.

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Sustainability Festival (Saturday 22 April)

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Sustainability Festival (Saturday 22 April)

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On Earth Day (Saturday 22 April) visit Maastricht University’s Sustainability Festival hosted by Green Office and Klimaat Actie Netwerk and supported by SUM2030 and Studio Europa, this festival is a celebration of sustainability and our planet. From 1 pm to 6 pm, come explore the art market at the Sustainability Hub, the info market at Tapijn, and the vintage market at Kaleido. Attend workshops at the Sustainability Hub and learn practical skills to help you live more sustainably. There will be a display of all the submitted drawings from the primary school contest (all year groups in UWC Maastricht Primary are entering the competition), so come and admire the creativity. Don't forget to enjoy some delicious food, drinks, and music from 5 pm to 9 pm. The festival will be kicked off by a speech from the Green Office and KAN, and the winners of the Primary schools drawing contest will be announced. Don't miss out on this opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and celebrate our beautiful planet! #SustainabilityWeekUM

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Eco-Week coming to UWC Maastricht next week

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Eco-Week coming to UWC Maastricht next week

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Leading up to Earth Day on 22 April, some institutions have organised special events or activities next week.

UWC Maastricht is one of them and Primary in particular will have more time allocated for those with a special Eco-Week Assembly; the launching of the new waste separation stations; planting activities; a drawing competition and other.

Secondary students will be invited to fill in their Carbon Footprint 2022-2023 information about travel and food.

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Night of the Notables: Voices of those who struggled to be heard

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Night of the Notables: Voices of those who struggled to be heard

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We are cordially inviting you to our 2023 Night of the Notables Celebration! The event takes place from  13:15 to 15:15 on Monday April 17th, in the Atrium of the Secondary School Building.  The title of this year is: ‘Voices of those who struggled to be heard” . Students were given the freedom to choose someone notable within this theme, one class researched Historical Individuals who deserve to be known for their contributions to Humanity but have been underrepresented in History; while other class researched an unknown hero/heroine within the environmentalist and sustainability movement. All students researched how their chosen person is notable and significant and how this perspective may have changed through time, place and/or space. Participating subjects have been Art, English and I & S.   In Art, students have made a portrait; in English, students have learned how to engage in Persuasive Speech; and in I & S students created a research record and critical paragraph, highlighting varying perspectives and answering their own research question.   Students have been working hard over the last few weeks preparing for their exhibition. We are sure that you will be impressed with their efforts when you see them perform/present their findings. We look forward to meeting you on the 17th of April for a celebration of the students’ efforts and learning.

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This week we had to say goodbye to one of our senior student facilitators, Masami, because as a Year 13 student this was her final week doing Service for the CAS Program. We wish Masami all the very best with her final IB exams in May and thank her for her patience, kindness and permanent smile. Best of luck in your future projects, Masami! We will miss you!

The students have been planning and creating, in teams, their own ways to convey to other students in Primary what the Eco-School Club is, how to separate waste in the new waste separation bins soon to be placed in Primary and ideas for more sustainable lunches. The students will present at the Assembly on 18 April.

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UWC Maastricht student becomes Earth Prize Scholar

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UWC Maastricht student becomes Earth Prize Scholar

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Year 12 student Betty Lu submitted the “Keystone Oak Project” proposal in January  and her ‘Fresh Idea’ was ranked as one of the top submissions of this year's edition so she now has a chance to advance to the Finalist Phase of the competition.

Betty’s project aims to address “eutrophication, which is algal growth in harmful amounts due most commonly to excessive amounts of the nutrients phosphorus and nitrogen, which come from inadequate wastewater treatment, intensified agriculture, and soil erosion.

The solution addresses two other environmental problems: fossil fuel emissions and the overconsumption of high-GHG-emission animal products. Both problems contribute to climate change, which inequitably causes increased temperatures, extreme weather, and sea level rise.

[Betty’s] idea is to build ATS systems beside nutrient-overloaded lakes to reduce and eventually eliminate eutrophication while harvesting the algae for vegan dietary supplements and biogas. To avoid emissions from virgin materials, [she] will manufacture the system with recycled plastic (for the screens and pipes) and steel (for the frames).”

On 27 February Betty will find out if her proposed solution makes it to the final, in which case she would have to proceed with her plan to contact the local government in Limburg and a USA based company that could potentially help her with her solution.

Well done, Betty, for your passion for Sustainability and your scientific rigour, also as an Environmental Action Group (EAG) member and leader of the Aquaponics Club!

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The Earth Prize is a $200,000 environmental sustainability competition for teenage students everywhere. The Earth Prize will recognize the students and schools with the best solutions to accelerate positive change towards environmental sustainability, as judged by The Earth Prize Adjudicating Panel.

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Take this quiz and find out how much you really know about Climate Change

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Introduction

Everyone is talking about high temperatures, greenhouse gases, floods, rising tides... You know a little about climate change but how much do you really know? Enough to take action?

Test your climate change IQ today; get recommendations on how to improve your knowledge and skills; and build the confidence to become a climate champion.

Good luck!

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Do like your friend and test your knowledge on climate change!

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From how to prevent e-waste, to avoiding food waste or more technical themes, the UN CC:Learn platform allows you to join online courses to extend your knowledge about a wide variety of topics.

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Eco-School Club promoting Reducing consumption of new items & waste + Reusing of old items

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Eco-School Club promoting Reducing consumption of new items & waste + Reusing of old items

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This Wednesday the Year 5 and Year 6 students in the Eco-School Club worked on 5 goals of Sustainability: Refusing, Reducing, Reusing, Recycling and Repairing. With this in mind, especially reducing consumption and waste and reusing items, they started preparing for the Second-Life flea Market, which will take place next Wednesday 30 November, from
3pm to 6pm, in the atrium of the Secondary building.
With this event students wish to give a second life to toys, books and clothes they no longer use or to those donated by others.
The Second-Life flea Market is organised in collaboration with the Year 6 Graduation team and all the money raised will go towards that celebration in June.
If you have any items in good condition (books in any language, clothes, toys, home decorations/items or accessories) you no longer need or want, please bring them to B005 (ground floor of the Secondary building, glass door by the parking/waste trolleys area) on Monday 28 November from 8:30h.

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Wishing somebody happy holidays, get well soon or lots of luck? A handwritten card is a hug you get to keep! And you can now do this with our UWCM Postcards! They are made by primary and secondary students and the proceeds go to the school's scholarship fund, which allows students regardless of their socioeconomic background the opportunity to study at UWC Maastricht. You can buy a package of 11 cards for €10 at the reception!

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On Tuesday 22 November the Environmental Action Group (EAG) screened 'The True Cost', a documentary film about the fast fashion industry and our responsibility as consumers, in the Atrium.

Here is the trailer of the documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaGp5_Sfbss&ab_channel=Untold

A discussion with students and some staff followed the film about how and at what cost our clothes are made.

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EAG (Environmental Action Group) has contributed to raise awareness about consumerism and fast fashion by organising UWCM's "Green Week" (21.11. - 25.11.), where  an event has been organised each day of the week.
On Monday 21 November morning, an art exhibition/installation  around consumption and consumerism in the reception area welcomed all student and staff.

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On Sunday 20  November, 19 students and one intrepid UWCM family braved variable weather to explore the Jeker Valley, from Pietersburg to the Cannerberg and Milenium bos. There were lots of good conversations and interesting sites along the way. It was particularly nice to have a mixed group. There were lots of Year 12 students, but we were also joined by parents, a Year 11 student, and the youngest participant yet in our Weekend Excursions, Leonardo, a Kindergarten student at UWCM!  Well done!

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As a response to the inherent consumerism and waste generation around “Black Friday” sales (25 Nov) everywhere, different members of the school’s Eco-Team have planned actions to raise awareness about Sustainability and the 5Ps of waste management: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle during a whole Green Week.
Above the activities proposed by the Environmental Action Group (EAG).
In addition, the Swap Shop (only adult size clothing, and other items available) will host a Green Friday special, on 25 November, from 4 to 5pm in the 3rd floor of the Secondary building. In this occasion all colour green items will be for free and the rest of the funds collected (1 euro per item) will be donated to the school’s Permaculture Garden towards gardening tools, seeds and perhaps some more trees.

Last but not least, Year 5 and Year 6 students in the Eco-School Club will be also planning next week a Second-Life Market from items they own and donations, which will take place in the Atrium on Wednesday 30 November from 3 to 6pm. This is a collaborative initiative with the Year 6 parents to fundraise for the Year 6 Graduation while promoting the idea of Reducing and Reusing in our lives.

There will be kids size and perhaps adult size clothing, toys, books, accessories, decorations, perhaps hand-made items too. Ideal place to find the Sustainable gifts you have been looking for with a different price range!

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Youth United for Sustainability (YUS) Conference 14 & 15 November

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Youth United for Sustainability (YUS) Conference 14 & 15 November

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With the 2022 theme "What do you Sea?", the student-led YUS Conference team organised this week two online lectures by re-known experts in the field of water and five workshops for Year 12 students. In December they will also provide a workshop for Year 5 and Year 6 students in the Eco-School Club.
The  opening speech was by Hugo Contreras, a UWC-USA alumni and the president of the Mexican UWC National Committee. He is an economist and the director of the Water Security in Latin America at The Nature Conservancy. The Nature Conservancy is a global non-profit environmental organization, with over a million members, and is the largest non-profit environmental organization in the Americas. Hugo talked about his role at The Nature Conservancy, and focused on freshwater, water risks and water security (domestic, urban, economic, environmental, resiliency).

For the closing speech,  Dr. Tero Musten, Regional Representative for the Circumpolar Arctic, took the stage. Dr. Tero is also the President of the Snowchange Cooperative, an internationally-awarded non-profit organization led by indigenous people in the Scandinavian regions, which brings forward indigenous knowledge and research, as well as leading policy making for environmental action. Dr. Tero talked about Snowchange, as well as the arctic biocultural marine ecosystem, using two case studies from arctic environments.
The five workshops offered were:

1. City Building Simulation:  as the leader of a country, how would you deal with the sea level rise? Let's discover it!

2. pH Experiment:   learn about the power of the Algae to heal the sea with this workshop!

3. Mix & Match:  test your knowledge and learn about all the astonishing species that live in the ocean!

4. Water Filter: learn to make this potentially life-saving invention from scratch!

5. Video game:  build your own community and protect them from catastrophe.

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Visit to the Water Treatment Plant in Limburg

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Visit to the Water Treatment Plant in Limburg

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Year 6 students visited this week the water drinking station as part of their Dutch lesson.
Fun fact: Most drinking water in Limburg (75%) is made from groundwater. Water from the Meuse, also known as surface water, is used for the remaining quarter. The company pumps the groundwater out of the ground from 300 wells. These wells are located in protected water catchment areas.

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Het meeste drinkwater in Limburg (75%) wordt gemaakt van grondwater. Voor het overige kwart wordt water uit de Maas, ook wel oppervlaktewater genoemd, gebruikt. Het grondwater pompen we vanuit 300 waterputten uit de grond. Deze putten bevinden zich in beschermde waterwingebieden.

Het water uit de grond en de Maas is nog niet drinkbaar. Het moet eerst in verschillende stappen goed gezuiverd worden. Het zuiveren van grondwater gebeurt in één van onze 21 pompstations. Voor het zuiveren van het oppervlaktewater zijn extra zuiveringsstappen nodig om de kwaliteit van het drinkwater te garanderen. Dit gebeurt in ons oppervlaktewaterproductiebedrijf in Heel.

Is het water gezuiverd, dan wordt het vanuit opslagkelders de leidingen in gepompt en zo naar alle huishoudens en bedrijven getransporteerd. Tegenwoordig regelen pompen de waterdruk. Vroeger speelden watertorens hierbij een belangrijke rol.

In Limburg ligt 8700 kilometer aan hoofdleidingen. De waterleidingen onder de grond lijken op een wegennetwerk, met snelwegen (transportleidingen), hoofdwegen (de waterleidingen in de straat) en zijweggetjes (huisaansluitingen). WML werkt continu aan haar leidingnet om er voor te zorgen dat er water uit de kraan blijft komen.

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Swap Shop and Lost&Found November donations

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Swap Shop and Lost&Found November donations

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Early last week we donated 10 sacs of clothes and shoes to the NGO Juupu, left over from the November Swap Shop sale on 7 November and the found items that were in the Lost&Found catalogue for 2 weeks and went unclaimed by Thursday 3 November.

All in all 178.57 euros were raised for the Swap Shop Fund. Year 7 to Year 13 student teams can apply for those funds (there are 4 deadlines throughout the year) if they have projects that would impact the community.

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On Saturday, 20 students cycled to the Savelsbos, by way of the Gronsveld Windmill, for a lovely walk in gorgeous fall weather.  It was a relaxed, playful excursion through orchards and forest, and around old kalk tunnels.
Weekend excursions are always opened to families in the school or students in Secondary (by themselves) and there are different trails to follow if the kids can't walk as much. Registration by Thursday that week is a must for the Outdoor Coordinator to plan different trails if need it.

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On 3 November, Year 6 students were introduced to the SDGs through a presentation led by David Sheehan from SDG Platform Maastricht, in association with our partner CNME. We believe these projects are important for the learning community since our UWCM vision and mission is closely aligned with local and global projects in sustainability.
On Thursday 17 November students will continue with a Photography workshop and a SDGs in Photography project.

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Tomorrow 7 November the 27th UN Conference on Climate Change begins in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
Social media platform We Don't Have Time and its partners will provide daily live broadcasts from COP27, until 17 November, exploring pressing climate issues with leading experts, including scientists, policymakers, NGOs, companies, youth activists, innovators and more.
COP 27 seeks renewed solidarity between countries to deliver on the landmark Paris Agreement, the legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015.

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Daily live broadcasts from COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, and from hub venues in Stockholm, Nairobi, and Washington, D.C. November 7–17, 2022.

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In year 5, this week kicked off their second unit of inquiry, The Web of Life, with a see, think, wonder routine. The children were tasked with jotting down their ideas about a selection of images portraying the effects of Climate Change. After this activity, we have dived into the topic, researching the differences between climate and weather, and the different climate zones.
Once again, we are able to expand in our curriculum about Sustainability matters and how great that we could discuss it during Dutch Climate Week!

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Lowering our school temperatures for National Climate Week (31 Oct-4 Nov)

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Lowering our school temperatures for National Climate Week (31 Oct-4 Nov)

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"From government to business and from citizens to students, everyone can contribute to a more sustainable Netherlands. A better climate starts today. Will you join us? This is the time to live even more consciously, to emit less CO2 and to save more (energy). That is good for all of us, a greener Netherlands and our wallet."
We can all have less impact on the climate by reducing our demand for energy and producing less CO2 emissions. One effective way is to reduce the temperature in buildings to 19०C in winter, as recommended by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. Coinciding with Climate Week in The Netherlands and to prepare for COP 27 (UN’s Climate Change Convention) in Egypt, later in
November, let's try out lowering our school temperatures by 2 degrees for a week at the school, as a pilot!
On Monday 31 October when you come to school the temperature will be 2 degrees lower in the classrooms and all offices (from 22०C to 20०C) and 1 degree lower in the corridors, toilets and the gym (from 20०C to 19०C). We have calculated this simple action will reduce our energy consumption by 8% compared to the same week last year (if other conditions as
outdoor temperature would remain the same) . So when returning from the break, don't forget to put on a warm sweater! You can also choose to lower the temperature at home.
After the week’s pilot and receiving feedback from all our community members, the school leadership and the Eco-Team will decide on the next steps.

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Veel Nederlanders zijn al goed bezig en besparen energie. Dit is het moment om bewuster te leven, minder CO2 uit te stoten en meer te besparen. Veel overheden, bedrijven en huishoudens helpen al mee en leven steeds duurzamer. Dat is goed voor ons allemaal, een groener Nederland én onze portemonnee. Maar er moet nog veel gebeuren om de afgesproken CO2-doelen te behalen. Om nóg meer burgers en organisaties te inspireren zich in te zetten voor een beter klimaat, organiseren we van 31 oktober t/m 6 november 2022 de Nationale Klimaatweek.

Heb je vragen over de Nationale Klimaatweek? Mail dan naar klimaatweek@minezk.nl.
Deze campagne is een initiatief van het ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat.

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Nationale Klimaatweek 2022 - Nationale Klimaatweek 2022

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Veel Nederlanders zijn al goed bezig en besparen energie. Dit is het moment om bewuster te leven, minder CO2 uit te stoten en meer te besparen. Veel overheden, bedrijven en huishoudens helpen al mee en leven steeds duurzamer. Dat is goed voor ons allemaal, een groener Nederland én onze portemonnee.

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During the break the weather circumstances where perfect for our contractor to put on the grass and plant the trees and other plants in and around the new playground.

The result is amazing! Our playground is now the Green Heart of the Campus that we envisioned when we started this project over 2 years ago.

But...the grass will need 2 more weeks to root and attach itself to the soil. Only then it will be strong enough to play/ walk/ run on. As much as we would have loved to tell students: you can now use the play structures, but do not run over the grass... Sorry, we tried that at the beginning of the year, and practice showed us that that is not going to work. Unfortunate as a result we had to make the decision to close down the playground for 2 more weeks...We hope students will be patient, the reward is worth waiting for!

Thank you all for you understanding and cooperation.

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The new Year 12 and the Year 13 students have initiated their CAS Program and with it 3 students have already begun processing the lost items in our school and uploading them into the Lost&Found Catalogue (QR code above).
For all items uploaded before the October break, the deadline for claims is Thursday 3 November at 3PM to
lostfound@uwcmaastricht.nl
Items not claimed by then will be donated either to the Swap Shop, Juupu and/or Salvation Army.
To avoid problems, please TAG ALWAYS your/your kids’ clothes so they can be easily returned to you/your kids once the lost item is found: with the format Initial+Surname e.g. for Ella Smith = E. Smith (you can add your Year group/class as well, if you wish). This way
your belongings will be identified faster and returned to you (if you are in Primary) or you will receive an email to collect them from B005 (if you are in Secondary).
Thank You!

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Just before the October Break, students in Year 2 learnt about different gardening tools, their names, use and how to handle them safely. We used trowels, secateurs and garden forks to clear the garden from the lovely wildflower lawn we planted earlier this summer, which attracted many pollinators! We also cleared weeds, composted the tomato plants and cleared the space for our spring bulbs to appear.

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First Eco-Team Meeting of the school year

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First Eco-Team Meeting of the school year

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On 19 October, all members of the student led or participated Sustainability groups, Student Council reps, parent reps from the Parent Association and the Participation Council, as well as staff in key Sustainability-related roles or as leaders of groups and Leadership team members came together for our first monthly Eco-Team meeting of 2022-2023. Overall, 26 people of Primary and Secondary got a chance to get to know each other (at least a little bit), hear about the team's achievements last year and the aims for his new school year, as well as the different expectations and goals of individuals and the groups they represent. Some broad targets were discussed  (and conversations will follow), including the possibility of reducing the temperature in the school buildings as a way to reducing our carbon footprint. This measure will in fact be taken on, as a pilot, during the Climate Week that starts on Monday 31 October until Friday 4 in The Netherlands.
The next Eco-Team meeting will be on Wednesday 16 November.

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Swap Shop: winter clothes wanted for 11 October

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Swap Shop: winter clothes wanted for 11 October

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After the successful first Swap Shop event in September, when more than 300 euros were raised for student-led projects, the second Swap Shop of the year will now take place on Tuesday 11 October.  As the winter is approaching, we would be grateful for donations of winter jackets, coats, boots, hats, scarves and gloves in adult sizes. If you are able and willing to donate any of your old clothes that are still in good condition, please bring them to the reception of the school on Tuesday, October 11 and tell the receptionist that it is a donation for the Swap Shop.

All the money raised goes into the Swap Shop Foundation which then redistributes the funding back to the community by supporting student-led projects.

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Last Wednesday at the CAS Fair where over 70 service, creativity and activity experiences were presented by and to our Year 12 and Year 13 students and many local organisations also presented their needs and what they do, the Eco-Team set up a stand bringing together all the related opportunities for Environmental Sustainability (themes of climate change, nature, waste, items, energy, transport or food) :
- Bike Repair service
- Carbon Footprint Monitoring service
- Eco-School Primary Club
- Environmental Action Group (EAG), service or creativity
- Lost & Found service
- Permaculture Gardening & Tree Nursery service or activity
- Swap Shop
We saw some interesting new initiatives around and will invite their student reps to join the Eco-Team as soon as the CAS experience allocations are finalised and students initiate the weekly hours dedicated to each experience. Equally, other group members of the Eco-Team (people theme) such as Decolonise or the NeuroDiversity Club were also present.

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Awarding of our 3rd Green Flag on 21 September, during UWC Day

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Our school's Eco-Team: very present and growing

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Our school's Eco-Team: very present and growing

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Besides the waste separation workshops provided for Year 12 students during Welcome Week, members of the school's Eco-Team (in this case the Year 13 students leaders of the Environmental Action Group: EAG) provided a interactive presentation on waste and veganism to Year 5 students of Primary during UWC Day. At the end of that morning, most student members of the Eco-Team and many of the involved staff members and parents, joined each other and Year 5 to Year 7 students in the atrium to receive the third Green Flag for our school. This is a symbol and recognition of our arduous work on Sustainability at UWC Maastricht in the last 2 school years, reflected in a portfolio and which culminated in an audit visit  last June by the national director of Eco-Schools in The Netherlands.
The Eco-Team was also present with an informative stand during the International Fair organised that afternoon by the Parent Association and more recently, this past week, in the CAS Fair for Year 12 & Year 13 students.
In the coming weeks we will inform about the Eco-Schools Club in Primary, where 25 students from Years 4, 5 and 6 will expand their knowledge and practice of Sustainability in a weekly experience of sharing, learning and creating.

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Welcome to the new school year 2022/2023 

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Welcome to the new school year 2022/2023 

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This first month of September has been intense in introduction presentations and celebrations.
Early September started with professional development training for staff on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice (yes, this is also a dimension of Sustainability that relates to People); the Welcome Week for our new students in Year 12, which included workshops on waste separation and reusing and also a presentation about our Permaculture Garden & Tree Nursery Project.
Last but not least, the celebrations for UWC Day, this year with the theme "Peace Begins with Us", brought a diversity of workshops for Primary to Year 11 students about Identity, Community, Sustainability, Peace and Wellbeing, facilitated by Year 13 students and some staff. Year 12 students and tutors all attended a fantastic Peace themed hike that sunny morning.
All students and staff were invited on the day and the remaining of that week to create a paper feather with their wishes for Peace, Sustainability and/or Wellbeing in our community, which were then inserted into the wings of s peace dove. This collaborative art piece is now displayed in the ground floor of the atrium.

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Organic plants production at Permaculture Garden 

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Organic plants production at Permaculture Garden 

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Our Secondary school Permaculture Gardeners have been raising organic fruit and veg over the last year and the first produce has now been shared with the community:

Basil - ready to eat

Chilli - starting to fruit and getting hotter!

Lettuce - ready to plant for eating in another week or so

Sunflowers - ready to plant for August flowering

Strawberries - for planting and growing on for fruit next June.
Rainbow Chard and Rocket Salad - eating immediately

All have been raised inside the polytunnel so will benefit from being in a sheltered spot in their new gardens/terraces.

All plants have been given away to staff for  free! However, a voluntary donation box will raise funds to stock up with some different seeds for next season.

It is a pleasure to see what great work our students have been doing over the past year outside!

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15 boxes with primarily clothing items from the Swap Shop, 2 big bags with unclaimed items from the Lost&Found Service plus 3 crates of non-perishable food and hygiene items from the collections were donated to Juupu this morning.
It is nice to know that other people will now be able to enjoy the clothes that had 1 or 2 lives at UWCM already!

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MYP5 students were busy creating mesocosms last week during their Biology lessons. Mesocosms are self-contained ecosystems that can live decades.

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One third of our Eco-Team members at the end of the audit visit day

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On 15 June we welcomed Wietske Stoelinga, the national coordinator of Eco-Schools Nederland for an audit visit, which takes place every 2 years, to assess how we are doing as a school in terms of Sustainability and the work undertaken by the Eco-Team. Peter Alblas, our local contact person at CNME, also joined in the visit and meetings with various stakeholders within our school.

We are a certified Eco-School since 2016 and with the portfolio we have already submitted and the outcome of the visit we expect to receive the re-accreditation for our next Green Flag, which symbolises we are an Eco-School completing all the 7 steps of the program.

The Eco-Team has now grown to almost 50 members, including 10 Primary students (half of whom will become great Sustainability ambassadors in MYP1 next school year); Secondary student representatives -from the MYP & DP Student Councils and the many services, clubs and student-led initiatives working on Sustainability themes such as Climate, Nature, People and Waste-; staff with specific related roles within the school or with an interest in Sustainability and parents representing the Parent Association, Participation Council and other groups.

Our guests had the opportunity to speak with 10 Primary students, 10 Secondary students, 10 staff members and 2 parents throughout the day and enjoyed very much experiencing lunch in mensa, visiting a residential floor, the bike shed and learning more about the bike repair service, our solar panels, the new waste separation stations that will be installed next school year per floor, the Permaculture garden, the Swap Shop and Lost&Found services. They also visited a Primary Outdoor Learning session, a Year 6 class, a DP Geography class and learnt about the exciting plans for the new Primary playground.

It was a fun day in which they were especially impressed by our Eco-Team structure; the fact that parents are so involved also in Sustainability matters and our ability to connect and collaborate with like-minded organisations locally. Our students did an outstanding job presenting what they are working on regarding Sustainability at UWC Maastricht and what they would like to accomplish also next year. It was fascinating for our visitors to discover how the students have taken the lead in so many areas and are bringing about positive change. We will share the outcome of the visit in a few weeks!

Thank you to all the students, parents and staff who made this visit such a success!

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New waste separation stations for next school year

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New waste separation stations for next school year

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The Environmental Action Group (EAG), led by DP1 students and represented in the whole school Eco-Team, has been busy in the last 2 weeks delivering presentations to MYP (and Year 6) students on how to separate waste correctly and the new waste separation stations that will be introduced in each school floor already in August. The first sample already arrived 2 weeks ago and it’s placed in the atrium to allow all students to get familiar with it.

Further presentations will follow in Primary by the Primary Eco-Team reps either before this school year or at the start of next school year.

These waste separation stations will replace the bins in each classroom and have proved very successful in reducing the amount of general (residual) waste at several other educational institutions in Limburg.

Residual waste reduction is one of the goals set by the Eco-Team for 2021-2023 and with the assistance of these new tools and a regular and ongoing communication as well as the relaunch of the #Zero-Waste Meals campaign we hope to make this theme one of relevance for everybody in our community next school year.

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Introducing the new DP Peer Support Team 2022-2023

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Introducing the new DP Peer Support Team 2022-2023

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Members of the new DP Peer Support Team for the next 5 weeks and next school year introduced themselves yesterday during the final DP Assembly.  All these students speak different languages, have different cultural backgrounds and are residential and day students. The peer supporters have all received specific training to become listeners to their peers in times of need and they will also organise regular sessions to contribute to the mental health of the high school community. In addition the school provides a Well-being program through tutor time and appointments can always be made with the school counselors.

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Waste separation presentation in last DP assembly

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Waste separation presentation in last DP assembly

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The Environmental Action Group (EAG) presented yesterday to all DP students a reminder of the waste separation tips to remember, with some very useful questions from the MYP feedback to the waste survey. In addition, the EAG announced the new waste separation units per floor that will be brought into the school in August as bins are removed from all the classrooms and offices.
Additional workshops and presentations will follow for MYP students before the end of the school year.

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EAG Waste Separation in DP Assembly 7 June 2022

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International Award hikes and overnight camping

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International Award hikes and overnight camping

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Over the course of May and June, a total of 103 MYP4, MYP5 and DP1 students and 15 supporting staff members will have covered a total of about 40,000 km of hiking in forests of Belgium, Netherlands and Germany.
There were a total of 12 nights of overnight camping that took place as well.
The feedback from all community members involved has been fantastic in terms of the purely navigation and orienteering skills learnt but equally the setting of tents, meals planning and cooking, as well as development of perseverance, endurance, adaptation to weather changes and team work supporting all members of the teams.
Our Secondary Outdoor Education program is proving a great source of practical learning, satisfaction, new friendships and an opportunity for our staff to get to know the students in a completely different setting.

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Linking Sustainability to the DP Curriculum & collecting real life data

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Linking Sustainability to the DP Curriculum & collecting real life data

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This Friday 10 June many of the DP1 students in Geography, Biology and Environmental Systems & Societies will be collecting data for their internal assessments (IA).
Many of the research/practical works are focused on pollution reduction such as Boat traffic and Water Pollution; Car traffic vs Agricultural Air Pollution; River Sedimentation from Farm run-off; Effect of Fuel duty on fuel consumption; etc.
Geography students, for instance, will undertake their fieldwork at the Friday Market in Maastricht MFM). The students will be interacting, interviewing, surveying, observing, counting, noting,  photographing and documenting this valuable information as teams, even as they are moving towards the completion and submission of their Individual Reports on the same investigation. They have been preparing for 2 weeks about the scope and methodology of their investigation into the little secrets of the MFM and what factors impact its Sphere of Influence in terms of the customers, sellers, their diversity (place of origin, languages spoken, gender, socio-economic backgrounds), the distance they travel, what range of goods are available here, what is the USP of this quaint market and what are its issues in terms of logistics and operations.

We hope that this is an opportunity for the students to apply their theoretical knowledge learnt within the classroom which will now find an application in the real world and that they will also learn a little more about their host city/country and from the rich interaction which will take place in this market place from 9 am - 3 pm.

The students will have support from the Maastricht Markt Meesteers [Harry, Richard, Debbie and Roland] and Ms Hannie [Leader of the Sellers Union of MFM], good samaritans  of Maastricht  and several sellers in the Markt [Charlie’s Coffee, Vietnamese Stall, Meijer-Scharis, Beeing Pure, Argentinian Food stall, Raeven, Doeleman… to name a few].

We wish all students and their very supportive teachers a great day of data collection and that they make the best with the knowledge they've learnt in the classroom this year.

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The 2022 World Environment Day campaign #OnlyOneEarth calls for collective, transformative action on a global scale to celebrate, protect and restore our planet.

Just a reminder of our school's commitment to Climate Action and mission for a sustainable future.

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Friday 3 June marks the celebration of World Bicycle Day, why not coming to school by bike on that day and encourage others to do so more often? You will reduce your carbon footprint on that day!

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Week Zonder Afval: very useful tips and events via the website

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From Monday 30 May to Sunday 5 June the campaign Week without Waste returns with events in many cities of the Netherlands, a podcast, swap shops and other around key themes such as circular economy, reusable packaging, sharing initiatives, learning to repair things, second hand buying, giving clothes a second life or preventing food waste.
Check this website for many-many tips!

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Meld je aan Tips in je inbox Elke dag een afvaltip tijdens de Week Zonder Afval? Meld je dan aan voor de afvalnieuwsbrief

Van maandag 30 mei t/m zondag 5 juni 2022 gaan we met z'n allen de uitdaging aan om zo min mogelijk afval weg te gooien. Wil jij ook (weer) meedoen? Houd dan deze pagina in de gaten voor de #weekzonderafval.

Zeven dagen, zeven thema's

slide 1 of 7

Circulaire economie

Van 490 kilo afval per persoon per jaar naar 0 kilo afval! Kan dat? Ontdek de circulaire economie waarin we grondstoffen zo goed gebruiken dat er zo min mogelijk afval ontstaat.

Laat je inspireren

Pop-upstore

Kom buurten in de pop-upstore van Milieu Centraal op Utrecht Centraal. Overdags open tijdens de Week Zonder Afval en te vinden tussen spoor 18 en 19.

Inspirerende podcasts

Voor de campagneweek werden podcasts opgenomen met 'circulaire helden' die zich inzetten voor minder afval. Luister de podcasts?

Acties per provincie

Sommige activiteiten zijn mogelijk uitverkocht.

Ook interessant om te lezen

Deze site plaatst standaard noodzakelijke cookies om de site goed te laten werken en anoniem te meten. Accepteer alle cookies om ook functies van derden te gebruiken, je bezoek is dan niet meer anoniem.

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Durf jij van 30 mei t/m 5 juni 2022 de uitdaging aan om de afvalberg een stuk kleiner te maken? Doe mee met de Week Zonder Afval?

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The Terra Nova Project is an independent campaign initiated by MYP3B students, as part of their Service as Action program, solely devoted to preserving our global environment, with a fundamental goal to stay loyal to impacting our world positively by reducing our carbon emissions by cooperating with AWorld.

"We are dedicated to conserving both our local and global environment by utilizing an app known as ActNow, which allows us to keep track of the essential impacts we have on the environment by sustaining a healthy lifestyle and environmentally-friendly habits."

To find out more, visit their website above.

Well done MYP3B!

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Sustainability App for Climate Action | AWorld

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AWorld is the sustainability app that encourages climate action. Connect with likeminded people, measure your impact and live your values.

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Social Media also has a Carbon Footprint

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Social Media also has a Carbon Footprint

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What types of Social Media do you use? With this calculator you can gain an understanding of the environmental impact of the time you spend on social media browsing and networking. A very interesting insight into something we seem not able to live without.

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TikTok is one of the newest social media apps, but it's also unfortunately the one with the biggest carbon footprint, emitting 2.63 grams of carbon equivalent for each minute that you spend scrolling. That means that if you spent just five minutes a day on the app, you'd produce 13g a day and 4.8g a year.

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TikTok is one of the newest social media apps, but it's also unfortunately the one with the biggest carbon footprint, emitting 2.63 grams of carbon equivalent for each minute that you spend scrolling. That means that if you spent just five minutes a day on the app, you'd produce 13g a day and 4.8g a year.

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For their Youth Mayors project a team of MYP5 students decided to take action in cleaning the Maas river. They have started their own cleanup group which they hope to extend to all of MYP shortly. In this process, they have reached out to other Mass clean-up groups, such as Maas CleanUp organisation in Maastricht, and have been informed about the legal repercussions surrounding the Maas river and its preservation. There is now a petition which will be offered to the Dutch Parliament on Tuesday 29 March, so every signature till that time counts! The link is above, just click on the photo.

The idea behind the petition is to grant the river legal rights to defend itself against being polluted.

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Petition to protect the Maas under law

At present, nobody feels responsible for the waste in our river. We want to change that, by enshrining the rights of the river Maas under law. We want the Maas to be given the status of legal personhood, just as people, companies and municipalities have. This way, representatives of the Maas can stand up for her and guarantee her inherent rights, such as the right to flow free of waste. The representatives act not only in the interests of the Maas, but also in her name.

Worldwide, more and more countries recognise the rights of nature. Now it is up to the Netherlands. It is high time to use our laws and regulations to protect and preserve the health of our rivers and their catchment areas, starting with our Maas.
Noting
That the Maas should possess at least the following fundamental rights:

1. The right to flow
2. The right to perform the essential ecological functions in its ecosystem, including providing a healthy home for fish, amphibians, aquatic plants and other river life
3. The right to be free from pollution
4. The right to nourish and be nourished by a healthy underground aquifer
5. The right to indigenous biodiversity
6. The right to recovery
We request
The Tweede Kamer to put the Maas on the political agenda and to investigate whether and how our river can be granted rights in the form of a legal personhood, so that her rights are better safeguarded.
What happens to your signature?
Maas CleanUp is collecting as many signatures as possible on behalf of the Maas in order to hand them over to the Tweede Kamer. With this petition, we ask the Tweede Kamer to put the Maas on the political agenda and to investigate how we can use our current laws and regulations to establish her fundamental rights.

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At present, nobody feels responsible for the waste in our river. We want to change that, by enshrining the rights of the river Maas under law. We want the Maas to be given the status of legal personhood, just as people, companies and municipalities have.

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Eco-Team joins forces with the Gardening & Tree Nursery Service group

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Eco-Team joins forces with the Gardening & Tree Nursery Service group

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On Wednesday 23 March over 20 members of the school’s Eco-Team came together in a beautifully sunny afternoon to support the efforts of the Gardening & Tree Nursery Service group in the Secondary veggie garden. The Eco-Team has now Primary, MYP and DP representatives, members of the Student Councils, parents and staff working together on advancing and monitoring Sustainability at UWC Maastricht. All those who could attend helped out in the planting of plum trees, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and other delicious fruit plants, as well as digging and preparing the soil. A brand new polytunnel that was set on NL Doet day is now hosting some other typically Mediterranean fruit trees to grow. Thank you again to Nathan, Lucinda and the DP student gardeners who are doing such a fantastic job in creating a permaculture garden on our campus!

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Primary concert & art fair to support Ukranian refugees

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Primary concert & art fair to support Ukranian refugees

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Primary students, teachers and parents are organising a fundraising event next week Thursday 24 March, at 14:30h.

There will be exciting performances, art works displayed and baked goods and drinks to raise funds among students, families and friends in support of action for Ukraine via Giro555, a joint effort of 11 collaborating organisations (Red Cross, Save the Children, Plan International, OXFAM and others) helping victims of the war in Ukraine.

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On Saturday 26 March, at 20:30h local time, switch off all the lights at home for an hour and consider some of the suggestions in this website to join a movement across the world.
Earth Hour was started by WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and partners as a symbolic lights-out event in Sydney in 2007. Today it is one of the world's largest grassroots movements for the environment. Held every year on the last Saturday of March, Earth Hour engages millions of people in more than 190 countries and territories, switching off their lights to show support for our planet.
The challenge it invites us to take on is exploring what new practices we can incorporate each year to make our households and living on this planet more sustainable. For instance, how could you reduce your family's carbon footprint?

Earth Hour goes far beyond the symbolic action of switching off - it has become a catalyst for positive environmental impact, driving major legislative changes by harnessing the power of the people and collective action.

Earth Hour is open-source and welcomes everyone, anyone, to take part and help amplify the mission to unite people to protect our planet.

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Join the Biggest Hour for Earth | Earth Hour

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Join us again next year for Earth Hour 2025 on Saturday, the 22nd of March at 8:30 pm your local time as we create the Biggest Hour for Earth.

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Last week MYP2 students engaged in a very experiential learning activity on Ocean Pollution as part of their Individuals&Societies subject.

Students replicated in a small container the impact of human activities on the oceans by identifying the main pollutants and adding and removing items based on real-world events as the teacher read a story (Code Blue) about the history of the world's oceans. The discussions that followed showed the great level of understanding MYP2 students already have about sea life and the ways to mitigate the impacts of human activity in our oceans.

Well done MYP2 and your teachers for introducing such an exciting activity!

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In May 2021, the Heads of all UWC schools and colleges agreed and signed on their intent to start exploring ways to report on their carbon emissions, to generate locally suitable strategies to reduce those and bring in or strengthen programs and experiences for our students to maximise their personal contribution towards the Paris Goals and UNSDGs and broaden their understanding of Climate Justice.

In that regard, the Eco-Team, via the Carbon Monitoring Service team (DP students) has been collecting for several months data from DP students and now all employees of the school, to produce a preliminary report on our school's 2021 Carbon Footprint.

In March the Eco-Team will proceed with presentations to the Parents Association in order to then collect data from parents regarding the daily commutes to school and students diets. This effort is not meant to discourage or shame any members of our community but rather to create a baseline from which we can start exploring options to reduce our school's carbon footprint in the future.

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Uniting the world: UWC, together for our planet and for our future

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As the world prepares for COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021, the 18 UWC schools and colleges recognise their role in tackling the threat of global climate change and making their specific contributions to a resilient, net zero economy that protects, values and rebuilds the natural world.

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Several posters with conversation starters have been produced and displayed by members of the Black community at our school

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DP students of the Black community have emailed students and staff to explain what Black History Month is and how to get involved:
"[White people], it must frankly be said, are not putting in a similar mass effort to reeducate themselves out of their racial ignorance. It is an aspect of their sense of superiority that the white people [of America] believe they have so little to learn.

Loose and easy language about equality, resonant resolutions about brotherhood fall pleasantly on the ear, but for the Negro there is a credibility gap he cannot overlook. He remembers that with each modest advance, the white population promptly raises the argument that the Negro has come far enough. Each step forward accents an ever-present tendency to backlash."

-Where Do We Go from Here, Martin Luther King, 1967

Hello, community!

Happy Black History Month (BHM)! February serves as a global celebration of the achievements and triumphs of black people throughout history. Of course, "Black" does not designate a single nation or culture but has gone beyond its initial roots in the U.S and expanded to discuss the larger problem of systemic racism, which appears in many distinct (yet patterned) forms worldwide.

Though this is a holiday of celebration for powerful Black voices, we cannot individually commemorate the event without recognizing the past and existing efforts that make them possible; neither can we ignore the struggle that Black people are faced with every day. The Black community owes it to the great figures of its history to continue the efforts and discussions that led to their liberation. We have tried to spark this discussion today by making various posters you saw around the campus.

These posters highlight a few things that Black people are faced with daily within and beyond the school community and are intended to serve as conversation starters about such issues. We hope they serve their purpose and remind you that Black Liberation is Global and affects every aspect of our lives.

Please feel free to approach any Black student about the posters or any questions about BHM. We don't know everything but will try our best to answer and discuss them with you. Please be respectful when you approach anyone and note that they are under no obligation to answer your questions if they don't want to.

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YES Conference is one of the student-led events at our school, it took place on 15 and 16 February. This year's theme of the conference was ''Beyond'.  In the era of fake news and hollow political promises, it's often disheartening to think about climate change, and think that the battle is lost. Through the conference, the students wanted to show that change is real, and anybody can become part of the solution.
The lectures and workshops that took place allowed for thorough discussions and inspired action.

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The Swap Shop special on Valentine's day successfully raised 132€ towards funds for student projects. Sharia, one of the student leaders in this team tells us: "We held a Swap Shop event (in compliance with covid regulations) in conjunction with Valentine's Day in which all red and pink items were free. We managed to raise 132 euros in total from the sale of the secondhand items. Overall quite a successful event and we managed to hold it efficiently and safely with many happy people from the community walking away with new pieces."

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Year 1 students visiting the central waste zone in our campus

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Year 1 students explore waste in our school

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Year 1 students explore waste in our school

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This week Teacher Christine and teacher Elizabeth took Year 1 students to visit the school's central waste designated area. The students brought paper for recycling and learnt about the different types of waste that can be discarded of there. As critical thinkers that they are becoming, our youngest students also commented on all the litter lying around the containers. Big challenge for the Secondary students to catch up!

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The 3 judges in the vegan baking competition had an opportunity to each savour these samples of the vegan baking delicacies presented by the students

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Vegan Baking competition among DP students

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Vegan Baking competition among DP students

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Last Monday evening three of our residence mentors and the children of one of them had the amazing opportunity to taste and judge the sweet results of a Vegan Cookie Baking competition organised by the EAG during the weekend.
Seven of the residential floors participated. Evi, one of the DP day students, decided to participate as well and won the 2nd prize.
The recipe had been shared beforehand and each participant could add different ingredients to their baking.
The 1st place was awarded by students from the Seriti floor.
All in all, it was a very fun evening which illustrated just how many tasty options are out there to cook and enjoy vegan food.
We hope to have more of these events in the future, even among parents of the school, to showcase and promote more sustainable diet choices in our community.

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Food Bank donations last December, as students were leaving the residences for Winter Break

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The Environmental Action Group (EAG) has now established and will coordinate a  donation of uneaten food items from the Mensa once per week. The initiative was championed by Chihaya, a DP student passionate about tackling food waste, and proved very successful last December, as students had to empty the fridges in their residential floors for the Winter Break.
Last week alone 17 Kg of prepared meals and vegetables were donated to Landbouwbelang Food Bank in Maastricht. Well done to our students for addressing food waste in our campus!

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Swap Shop - Valentine's Day edition coming up

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Swap Shop - Valentine's Day edition coming up

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Last week the Swap Shop team sorted through all the items that could be passed on to Juupu as many new donations were received and there was no space available anymore in our storage rooms.

Juupu managed already by Monday to distribute them among a new Salvation Army location and other smaller services, so our re-using culture is benefiting outside the moat too.

On Monday 14 February, the Swap Shop will be running again (registration is a must due to COVID measures and restricted entry numbers) and to mark this occasion, all red and pink items will be for free.

We hope to collect a lot of funds to reinvest in funding for student-led projects as the deadline for applications to the Swap Shop Foundation is now 13 February and all submissions will be reviewed thoroughly. Especially for the DP1 students who have just completed their Youth Social Entrepreneurship training and are working on the projects they will implement locally in Maastricht, this opportunity is especially interesting and useful.

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Our Year 6 and MYP1 student representatives at the opening ceremony in Pathé Cinema.

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Opening of 'SDG in the Pictures' exhibition in Maastricht

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Opening of 'SDG in the Pictures' exhibition in Maastricht

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On Friday 28 January, eight lucky students from Year 6 and MYP1 were able to attend the opening ceremony of a beautiful photo exhibition showcasing the work of several year groups in different schools across Maastricht on the exterior windows of Pathé Cinema. Alderman Jongen, Uschi Prick (co-founder of Maastricht Photo Festival) and Anouk Viegen (director of CNME) were the key people to inaugurate this exhibition that will be open to the public until 28 February.
Among the displayed posters reflecting on some of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the 10 photos UWC Maastricht students had selected back in December.

We encourage all students and their parents to visit this really cute exhibition and reflect on the issues presented and the SDGs highlighted, our roadmap to a more sustainable future as set in the UN's 2030 Agenda.

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After a very successful Winter Clothes Collection campaign, our students’ Juupu Service Team would like to close 2021 ensuring families in need will find some comfort in bringing some nice foods to their tables during the upcoming holidays. For this reason, the Juupu wooden crates will be placed in the Secondary reception area from Monday 13 to Wednesday 15 December, until 3:30pm, for any students, families and staff members wishing to donate some canned or packed/endurable foods and hygiene products.

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Xmas Trees and the Secondary Organic Garden

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Xmas Trees and the Secondary Organic Garden

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Our Advancement Office is becoming more and more creative with their fundraising strategy to ensure we continue to secure funds to support the scholarships for many of our DP students. With the occasion of the festive season coming up, you might have noticed the small Christmas trees outside, close to the gate. They are being sold for a good cause for just €15 per tree. If you haven't bought one yet,  we hope you do so because:

1) The proceeds go directly to UWC's scholarship fund to support girls from the MENA region to come and study at UWC Maastricht.

2) The trees come in pots and have root balls. You can keep them or return the trees to campus for the Campus Gardening Service team (DP students) to use them as natural fencing for our organic garden.

3) You can use it/ them for inside or outside decoration!

4) Your family will love to decorate it

5) Your home deserves a Christmas tree!

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"Plastic Sucks!' An awareness raising campaign by Year 6 students Vicky S. and Juliet F. about plastic waste, microplastics and what we can do about it.

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The growing membership of the school Eco-Team (representing students, parents and staff working in different groups towards a more sustainable school and committed to a UWC Climate strategy) will be hosting its fourth meeting of this school year next week, a great occasion to share and celebrate all that has been accomplished in this first term and close 2021 on a very positive note. We look forward to sharing with you soon a summary of all our actions and projects from September to December. For now, we are very proud to present the work of our youngest and newest two members from Year 6, who created a presentation around plastic waste and microplastics and have been raising awareness among their peers about the steps that each of us can take to tackle this issue.

Our parent reps have also been busy collecting data about the #ZeroWaste Meals campaign that we launched last September. Thank you very much to all the families and staff members who kindly replied to our questionnaire!

The Carbon Monitoring Service Team (DP students) has also been busy collecting transportation related data from DP students (in this early stage, to be expanded to other community members) and the school’s energy consumption data. More news and updates in 2022.

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Year 6 & MYP1 students SDG Photo Exhibition

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Year 6 & MYP1 students SDG Photo Exhibition

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Following on from the photography workshops Year 6 and MYP1 students attended in the last 2 weeks, an exhibition took place today in the Primary building to showcase all the works submitted, which included a photo, the SDG associated with and a sentence provided all by the students. It was very impressive to see the talent and creativity of our young artists!

Voting by the students themselves was under way at the closing of this edition. The final 5 photos selected to represent each year group will be exhibited at the Pathé Cinema in the Sphinx from 17 January, together with those representing other 20 schools in Maastricht.

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Shelter City Maastricht - Human Rights Day 2021 commemoration

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Shelter City Maastricht - Human Rights Day 2021 commemoration

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On Monday 6 December our DP Global Politics students had a very special visitor, Anthony Odur. Anthony is a human rights lawyer from Uganda who is about to complete his 3 months “sheltered” stay in Maastricht. This programme was founded by Justice&Peace to allow human rights defenders around the world to find peace and protection from daily threats and regain some strength and networking by raising awareness in NL/Europe about the situation in their own countries. There are chapters in different cities of The Netherlands and also other countries. In Maastricht, Amnesty International and Mondiaal Maastricht  coordinate this life saving opportunity and we have been privileged at UWC Maastricht to be able to invite Shelter City Maastricht’s Human Rights defenders for many years. Anthony’s impactful storytelling about his own life and the struggles of the people evicted from their lands, who he tries to protect, were a fitting end to the students’ Human Rights unit in Global Politics:

“We have to listen, understand the pain of minorities and amplify their voices [...]. We need to deconstruct our thinking, decolonise our systems. We have to live it and work it [...] It’s all about the importance of human dignity [...]. Once we start promoting Human Rights, there is hope.”

Our visitors were very impressed with the depth of the questions and thoughts of our students and Anthony and David Sheehan (head of AI in Maastricht) enjoyed very much learning more about our school during a tour and were especially happy to hear about the ELL support the school provides and the promotion of mother tongues among our families and students.

The visit was completed by the planting of a plum tree, donated by Boomkwekerij Frijns, to commemorate Human Rights Day 2021 and our ongoing partnership with Shelter City Maastricht. A beautiful plaque engraved by the design technology department now accompanies the tree in the DP garden, behind Nelson Mandela’s residence building, with a quote by Demond Tutu: "It means a great deal to those who are oppressed to know that they are not alone. Never let anyone tell you that what you are doing is insignificant”.

Special thank you to students: Eva G. for the poem she read and to Chihaya, Adela, Gege and Amogh for helping Anthony with planting the tree.

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A hanging line with facts related to the fashion industry and tied to each garment surprised students today in the Humanities wing

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The Environmental Action Group (EAG) organised today a Green Friday event to make peers and teachers alike think about the power of their purchasing choices and how to consume more responsibly.

As they explained it: "Out of all sectors, the fast fashion industry has one of the largest environmental impacts. It is by nature unsustainable, due to its significant carbon emissions, soil and water pollution and inhumane working conditions." Therefore, the EAG invited all to look at 4 facts (see down below) to learn more about the consequences of a clothing purchase and hopefully take a stand against it, embracing sustainable consumption:

Globally, an estimated 92 million tons of textiles waste is created each year and the equivalent to a rubbish truck full of clothes ends up in landfill sites every second.

Globally, the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

To make a single cotton t-shirt, 2,700 liters of fresh water are required according to estimates, enough to meet one person’s drinking needs for 2.5 years.

Garment workers, who are making our clothes,  usually work with no ventilation, breathing in toxic substances, inhaling fiber dust or blasted sand in unsafe buildings.

EAG members explained "It is necessary that we all think about WHO is making our clothes, and HOW. If you are thinking of purchasing items for Black Friday, please consider going to SWAP SHOP (25th November, unfortunately only residential) instead, or prioritizing other alternatives. Through events and campaigns, we will be allowing access to a range of these alternatives ASAP."

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90% of the coats that had been collected found a new owner at the Swap Shop this week

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130€ for student projects were raised through the November Swap Shop yesterday. Even though the event had to be reduced to only residential students due to the corona measures now in place and only 20 students could enter at a time, this winter clothes special was a big success. Big thanks to the Swap Shop Team for their outstanding work promoting, collecting, sorting through, selling, tidying up the left overs and packing everything to donate to Juupu.

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John Steijns presenting to Year 6 students

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SDGs and Photography workshop for Year 6 (and MYP1)

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SDGs and Photography workshop for Year 6 (and MYP1)

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On Thursday, Year 6 students attended a workshop on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Photography provided by Educatie Duurzaam Natuurlijk and Maastricht Photofestival. 17 more students from MYP1 will attend the same workshopon 30 November. 23 groups from different Maastricht schools (both primary and secondary education) are taking part in the project, that will culminate in an exhibition at Pathé Cinema, Sphinxcour 1 in Maastricht and will be opened in January 2022.

During the lesson, children were taught to take a narrative photo around the SDGs (Visual Storytelling)and then given 2 weeks to work on this assignment (including possibly outside school hours). Ultimately, this will result in an exhibition for Year 6 and MYP1 students at our school, followed by a selection of the 5 most striking photos (chosen by the children themselves) that will be incorporated  by a designer into the exhibition in the city.

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Donate your warm clothes for a second life until Wednesday 1 December!

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Winter Collection for Juupu and the Swap Shop

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Winter Collection for Juupu and the Swap Shop

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This week and until Wednesday 1 December, UWC Maastricht will collect coats and any other warm clothes (woollen jumpers, scarfs, gloves, hats, boots or winter shoes) for kids and adults in need within Maastricht. This year we are partnering with Juupu in this massive collection to bring some warmth to others in our city. Thank you to Charlotte Groven, in the Advancement Office, for the first 25 coat donations by the members of her Lions Club!

Thus, if you would like to give a second life to a piece of clothing you have cherished very much, please bring your clothes to school until 1 December. Please hang your coat on the hooks or hangers in the indicated spot in the ground floor corridor between Primary and Secondary. If you have other types of clothes, please leave the bags under the hanging place by the wall and write “Winter Collection” or “Juupu” on the outside of the bag. For large donations (more than 2 bags), please contact o.garcia@uwcmaastricht.nl

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On Wednesday evening about 50 students, parents, staff members and alumni of our UWCM community attended an online lecture by The Vegan Strategist organised by the school’s Eco-Team and facilitated by DP1 students Manon and Matilde, from the student-led Environmental Action Group(EAG) and the Youth Environmental Sustainability(YES) conference.

Tobias led a very dynamic presentation on the reasons to transition towards a more plant-based diet considering not only climate action and animal wellbeing/rights but also health reasons. It was very interesting to hear about his own experience as a heavy meat eater 22 years ago and he encouraged everyone to do their bit. The questions that followed from the audience show the growing interest in more sustainable eating habits within our community and left none of us indifferent.

This talk was sponsored by funding from the Jong Leren Eten programme.

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boldly going where no vegan has gone before

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On Wednesday 17 November, the student-led Environmental Action Group (EAG) and the Youth Environmental Sustainability (YES) Conference teams will host Tobias Leenaert. Our guest speaker, known as The Vegan Strategist, will talk about how to save the Climate through plant-based diets. He will share practical tips and there will be time for Q&A.
This lecture is open for MYP4, MYP5, DP1 and DP2 students, staff and also parents (unless the COVID-related measures say otherwise).
See you on Weds 17 Nov. at 4:30PM in the atrium!!

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It is always great news when your partners align with your vision and mission. The Pension Fund of our employees, ABP (biggest in The Netherlands), has recently announced that it will stop investing in fossil fuel producers (oil, gas and coal). Many participants and employers have long wanted and requested ABP to stop investing in fossil fuels. Owing to that pressure and the latest climate reports published, the popular wish will become a reality by 2023.

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ABP stopt met beleggen in fossiele brandstoffen

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We trekken ons terug uit beleggingen in producenten van fossiele brandstoffen (olie, gas en kolen). Dit heeft het bestuur van ABP besloten na onlangs verschenen klimaatrapporten.

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From 31 October to 12 November the COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

At UWC we recognise our role in tackling the threat of global climate change and making our specific contributions to a resilient, net zero economy that protects, values and rebuilds the natural world.

At UWC Maastricht we are committed to develop our own local strategy with targets and programmes to reach “net zero” emissions by mid-century. The implementation of any measure will itself enable further climate action in our education programming.

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Students securing warm clothing/shoes for the coming winter thanks to community donations and the very affordable prices that generate new funds for projects.

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Sharia Neha, a student from The Swap Shop team, tells us about the event: “The Swap Shop we held on Wednesday evening was a tremendous success! Many students managed to buy warm clothing for the winter months that are ahead of us. We managed to raise 260 euros (over 260 items were sold! This money goes towards The Swap Shop Fund that MYP and DP students can apply for several times in the year in order to support their own projects/initiatives) from the sale of all the items in the Swap Shop and it was a really enjoyable experience setting up and packing up for the Swap Shop. All the students also looked like they were having a great time and were all chatting with each other.”

Did you wonder what happens with all the money that we collect during the Swap Shop? They get redistributed back to the community through various student-led projects! Students can apply by October 31, January 31, March 31 and May 31.

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From Friday 15 October though Monday 18 Oct., five teams of DP2 students hiked through the Eifel region of Germany for their Gold Award Final Expedition.  During a very challenging time in the year for DP2s, these teams nonetheless managed to plan their own routes, and meals, and to work together to conquer terrain that was significantly more challenging that their practice expedition in the spring.  Teams covered nearly 100km over the four days, and encountered weather conditions ranging from sunny skies to a coat of ice on their tents in the morning.

Well done to all 29 participants!

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Over 166 untagged lost items in the Lost&Found box this week

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The Lost&Found Service -with the upload of items in the catalogue- will not resume until November, when DP students initiate their CAS commitments as part of their IB Diploma. However, when your children’s/your own CLOTHES ARE TAGGED, THEY WILL RETURN TO YOU!

Why should I tag my child’s clothes?

1. Because things get misplaced and lost otherwise (coats, raincoats, boots, gym shoes and sportwear, ballet gear, gym bags, hoodies, jackets, shoes, hairbands, etc)

2. Because as an Eco-School and UWC we wish to instill in our students the idea and practice of Sustainability, not overconsuming and buying new clothes every week when your clothes can be easily tagged and then returned back to you when lost.

3. Because all students need to learn to take care of their belongings and should value what they have.

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Some Year 4 students with Mark Franck, our guest from CNME, collecting seeds and other from our edible plants

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Special guest for Outdoor Education in Primary

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Special guest for Outdoor Education in Primary

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Our local partner organisation, CNME (Centre for Nature Education in Limburg), visited us this week to check the state of both our Tiny Food Forest and green fence. All these fruit trees, shrubs and herbal plants were planted in the Primary area about a year ago.
Mark Franck, our visitor, supported by Ema Caires, our Primary Outdoor Education Coordinator, led 2 really interesting lessons for Year 4 and Year 5 students on Monday and Tuesday. Students collected nuts, seeds and even part of roots to make teas and oils and study the parts of plants and flowers.
Such a great opportunity to learning by doing directly on the soil!

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Residential students, residence mentors and other support staff working together during Sunday's Residential Service Day

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Almost one year after a great collaboration between DP residential and day students and also some MYP students and staff brought to life the greening of the Primary fence by removing tiles from the ground and filling it with fertile soil, a Residential Service Day has brought about a complete make-over to campus as part of the project initiated by the Eco-Team in spring 2020. 'Campus Re-Design' has in this way made the best use of the residential students' energy and excitement and the drive of their residence mentors (also leading projects such as the Campus Gardening) in order to prune a lot of the vegetation bordering the moat, reorganize the bike sheds, distribute new outdoor wooden furniture around campus, create 2 large raised beds for vegetable growing by reusing existing materials and make a safe fire pit reusing the bricks that were removed last year. All this was achieved in a fun, sunny and very warm day where the music and live singing brought about many smiles too. It was hard work but the residential community can be very proud indeed of the great work accomplished!

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Student and staff members of the Eco-Team presenting the different opportunities during the CAS Fair on 6 October 2021

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Sustainability related experiences at the CAS Fair 2021/2022

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Sustainability related experiences at the CAS Fair 2021/2022

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Last week the CAS Fair was finally celebrated live at our school, after the online version last year. This means all the DP students had a chance to visit the many stands with visiting outside Service organizations and Activity and Creativity experiences led by peers, staff members or visiting teachers.
The Sustainability related experiences were presented mostly by Eco-Team members. DP students have now the opportunity to sign for one or two of these for their Service and/or Creativity: Environmental Action Group (EAG), Campus Gardening and Tree Nursery Project, Swap Shop, Lost&Found, Young Naturalists with CNME, UWCM Bicycle Repair Project, UWCM Carbon Footprint Monitoring, among others.
Officially CAS experiences will start in November yet some of our students have already resumed their preparations for this year's initiatives and co-curricular work.

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Eco-Team experiences in CAS Fair Oct 2021

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Junior World Food Day on 5 October at 14:00 CETS is just around the corner! Get ready for stories, music and dance. Young people around the world will be invited to have a conversation with food heroes – from influencers to farmers, chefs and innovators – and to hear about why they choose to work with food. We will also hear from young people who are helping to make agri-food systems more sustainable. Be inspired to make change happen and become a food hero too!
How can I register and enter the event?

When you register for Junior World Food Day, you need to fill out a form to register for the World Food Forum from 1-5 October. On the 5 October, when you enter the platform to come to our event, look for the Cultural Event room! This is where the Junior World Food Day event will take place. To help you navigate the platform, we prepared a guide on how to find your way to the Junior World Food Day event here below.

·         Junior World Food Day registration link:

http://www.fao.org/world-food-day/events/detail/junior-world-food-day/en

·         Quick guide on how to find the Junior World Food Day event:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/r56wfeodg272pa6/Junior%20WFD_Guide.pdf?dl=0

We look forward to seeing you there!

All the best,

The World Food Day team

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One of the waste separation units at Zuyd Hogeschool Sittard

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Benchmarking good practices of waste management

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Benchmarking good practices of waste management

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This week our Facilities Manager, Communications Officer and Eco-Team Coordinator visited Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, in its Sittard location,
to learn first hand from the waste management system introduced back in 2018. By removing all types of bins from all classrooms, offices and other spaces and substitute them by waste separation units per corridor, the institution has managed to made their waste separation more effective, also reducing the amount of waste produced while saving considerable funds that can then be spent on different projects such as renovating communal areas, equipping those, etc.

We are benchmarking at the moment best practices in waste management at educational institutions in Limburg and across the Netherlands to explore possibilities in our school while we study our own waste sources and trends and start planning within the Eco-Team the best possible approach to introducing new waste management systems and involving the whole community via workshops, campaigns, and other activities in the process.

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Last week, the United Nations hosted its first-ever Food Systems Summit. The conference was all about building awareness around the importance of both distributing food fairly and growing it efficiently and sustainably to ensure everyone has healthy, climate-friendly food. The virtual summit saw over 51,000 people from 193 countries come together – all eager to tackle hunger, climate change and biodiversity loss.

Click in the link to read more about it!

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In 2021, UN Secretary-General António Guterres will convene a Food Systems Summit as part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

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UWCM Student selected for SDG Youth Mural in Maastricht

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UWCM Student selected for SDG Youth Mural in Maastricht

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As part of the 'Act for Global Goals' festival organised by SDG House Maastricht, YOUNGR-the Youth Council of Maastricht and the municipality of Maastricht last week, 17 young artists were selected to create the SDG Youth Mural under the Northern bridge in Maastricht.
Our DP1 student Mikhas Shatsila, from Belarus, was selected to reproduce a piece he had conceived about his vision, dreams and wishes, but also about the concerns of his generation regarding the (un)sustainable future that awaits them.
Well done Mikhas for engaging with the local community so soon after your arrival!

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View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SDG House Maastricht (@sdghousemaastricht)

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Last Saturday, coinciding with World Clean Up Day, 6 DP students and 4 staff members from our school spent the afternoon picking litter from the banks of the Maas river, in the Borgharen area. The work included digging out a whole bicycle from the mud that the floodings had left in the summer. In the photo the outcome of several hours of clean up. Well done to all the volunteers!
https://acties.maascleanup.nl/s/action/a0r5I000000FT2k/maas-cleanup-uwc-maastricht-borgharen

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Many DP students visited on Thursday afternoon the SwapShop

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The SwapShop team has started already this week working hard, bringing to DP students very affordable clothing and stationery. This project intends to promote REUSING, giving a second life to clothes and other used items, while raising funds to support student-led projects in our school. In this first event the SwapShop has raised 250€.
The SwapShop is one of the voices represented at UWCM's Eco-Team.

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Students aged 12 to 27 in Maastricht can send in their designs or poems before Monday 20 September to become 1 of 17 artists to replicate their work in one of the pillars of the Northern bridge.
Paint a better picture! Under the direction of world-famous artist Collin van der Sluijs, 17 aspiring young artists and a young poet will create a mural about their vision, dreams and wishes, but also about the concerns of their generation regarding the (un)sustainable future that awaits them.

The SDG Youth Mural will be painted live on the three pillars of De Krul in the Sphinxkwartier (close to the Noorderbrug) during the Act For Global Goals Festival on September 25 and 26.

Design competition for young people (12-27 years old): if you want to see your work of art shine in the beautiful city center of Maastricht, this is your chance! Make a painting or poem and send your design to us before September 20: actforglobalgoals@mondiaalmaastricht.nl

All our MYP2 to DP2 students have received an email about this and they need to send a selfie video to the organisers.

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SDG JONGEREN MURAL Paint a better picture! Onder leiding van wereldberoemde kunstenaar Collin van der Sluijs maken 17 jonge kunstenaars in de dop en een jonge [...]

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The Eco-Team has just launched a #zerowaste meals campaign to reduce the residual waste in our campus and encourage our community to become even more sustainable when planning meals and thinking about their own consumption habits.
To join #zerowaste meals please stop using single-use plastics or foil in the preparation and packaging of your school snacks and lunches. Instead you can fill in reusable water bottles, thermos and reusable food containers and cutlery. Even cloth napkins!
There will be competitions linked to this campaign coming up this term.

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The Earth Prize registration is now open

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The Earth Prize registration is now open

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The Earth Prize is open for students age 13 to 18 presenting environmental sustainability projects on their own or as part of a team of maximum 5 members (from any year group).
Registration takes place until 31 October and then the team/student seeks a supervisor. In January 2022 the students submit their project ideas, which could win up to $100,000. All participants become Alumni of The Earth Foundation.
Several teachers have already signed up to support students entering this competition.
For more info, contact o.garcia@uwcmaastricht.nl

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The Earth Prize is a $200,000 environmental sustainability competition for teenage students everywhere. The Earth Prize will recognize the students and schools with the best solutions to accelerate positive change towards environmental sustainability, as judged by The Earth Prize Adjudicating Panel.

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Climate Action, Nature (biodiversity & greenery), People (social sustainability with inclusive and accessible environments) and Waste will be our main themes.

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The Eco-Team is getting ready to start this exciting school year with 4 new focus themes that will guide our work.

There are also new members joining the team among parents, staff members and students.

You will hear very soon from us, presenting also the continued projects and new campaigns for 2021-2022.

See you soon!

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A very crucial member of the school's Eco-Team is our Primary Outdoor Education Coordinator and Year 4 teacher, Cyrille Dols.
She is leaving our school and Maastricht after many years of dedicated service, promoting in our primary students a passion for nature and the outdoors in general. We wish her the very best in her next destination and are certain that she will be missed by the kids and the adults alike.
Bon voyage Teacher Cyrille and enjoy LEGOLand!

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This week the Eco-Team held their 9th meeting of the year, presenting all the accomplished work to the Leadership Team of our school as well as the Action Plan for next school year and beyond. We are all (19 members including students, parents and staff) very proud of the successes this school year and excited about the many opportunities for targeted action next year. Our themes for the coming two school years will be WASTE, CLIMATE, NATURE & PEOPLE and we look forward to more parents and student involvement.

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This week, as part of the MUN Conference for MYP, a group of mixed MYP students explored and shared their current knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals. As part of the workshop students initiated also a mapping of the SDGs among the subjects, units and other service as action opportunities and clubs they have been able to join during this school year and in the past. This is a project we intend to expand next school year.

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Primary students visit the Daalhoeve farm 

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Primary students visit the Daalhoeve farm 

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This week all Primary students are visiting the Daalhoeve farm to get to know the animals each year group will be supporting with their outstanding fundraising of 3495€. Thank you so much again to all the parents who generously donated for this great cause!

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IVN visit and Tiny Food Forest activities 

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IVN visit and Tiny Food Forest activities 

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Last Friday Marjolein Lommen, from IVN, visited our school to check on the progress of our Food Forest and run some related activities with Year 4 students as part of Outdoor Education in Primary. The plants have grown a lot (students did actually take measurements) and only 3 raspberry plants and 1 rhubard will need to be replaced in the autumn. Students were able to harvest and eat raspberries, strawberries and lemon balm. They also so many different insects and worms, including ladybird eggs.

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Students from our IB Environmental Systems and Societies classes conducted some field trials for their Internal Assessments this week. Their investigations into fertiliser application rates and alternative mulching materials were inspired by the needs of our DP Gardening group as we try to minimise resource use while maximising our yield of organic fruit and veggies.  We look forward to analysing their data....and rewarding their dedicated research with strawberries soon!

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With the introduction of plants in the mensa after its redesign last school year, a whole new atmosphere has been created. The abundant number of plants and the small green wall provide a welcoming space and relaxing indoor but green environment for students to eat their meals or for different members of our community to organize meetings.

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Three wild flower patches around the DP vegetable garden and flower bombs thrown around this area of campus during Earth Day last April will assist the necessary pollination.