Nexus is delighted to share that we were Gold Award winners for the HoneyKidsAsia 2023 Sustainable International School of the Year Award. This prestigious recognition highlights the school’s unwavering commitment to eco-friendliness and its groundbreaking efforts to create a sustainable future both within the curriculum and the school infrastructure.
The Care MVMT: Motivating Learner Agency
At the heart of Nexus’s sustainability endeavours is the Care:MVMT, specifically, Care:World. It is an initiative that strives to inspire positive action directed towards protecting the planet, especially through collaborative efforts. The Care:MVMT aims to empower learners to realise their potential in enacting change and making a difference in the world. As a school, we actively promote eco-friendly practices, integrating these themes into the curriculum and extra-curricular activities.
A notable stride in Nexus’s sustainability journey is the establishment of the Care for World Ambassadors, a group of leader learners who focus on championing global causes and addressing critical issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and challenges faced by marginalised communities. One of the projects that the Care for World Ambassadors worked on was around food waste. They raised awareness for the issue by weighing leftovers generated by learners from the cafeteria.
During the Care for World week, the school was filled with activities that revolved around caring for the environment. There were opportunities to use a bike to generate clean-energy to make smoothies, plant herbs in the garden, participate in beach cleanups and so much more. It was an exciting week-long event that honed into Nexus’ commitment to environmental responsibility and global citizenship.
Nurturing a Mini-Circular Economy
Beyond gardening, Nexus has gone a step further by establishing a mini-circular economy. Our CCA, The Green Guardians, consists of learners who tend to the gardens at the school, planting and harvesting produce. In addition to organic farming, hydroponic cultivation and vermicomposting, these learners also get to witness the full cycle of their efforts by using the crops that they cultivate. The harvested produce is partially used in the cafeteria and the rest is sold to the community to raise funds to reinvest for seed and equipment purchases, which exposes our learners to the entrepreneurship side of things. This also contributes to the school’s efforts to support Singapore’s 30-by-30 Green plan as it sources a significant portion of the school’s nutritional needs locally.
Making Recycling A Community Effort
Apart from the typical paper, plastic and can recycling bins, Nexus implemented specialised bins for clothing, specific plastic bottles and electronic waste. By adding these bins on campus, the school made recycling more accessible for the Nexus community and encouraged everyone to contribute. This helps reduce waste and instil a collective responsibility amongst learners, families, and staff.
Harvesting Green Power
Nexus recently installed solar panels that allow the school to consume energy from a clean and renewable source. This leap significantly reduces the school’s carbon footprint and sets an inspiring example for other educational institutions. The amount of power produced and trees saved is also displayed on the signage screens around the school so that the learners can see what is happening with the solar panels and understand the real-time benefits.
Sustainability As A Way Of Life
As Nexus strives to nurture learners who are resilient and relevant, it will continue to build upon its focus on sustainability as it is a key conversation for the future generations to come. By ingraining these concepts in and outside the classroom, Nexus will continue to offer real-life opportunities for its learners to enrich their learning.
We recognise that this award was made possible by the great efforts of our community who embrace environmentalism and support the initiatives from Nexus. With the support of Nexus, we hope that our learners and families will continue to exercise their agency to care for the planet and continuously aim for a greater future.
Nexus was also awarded Silver For HoneyKids Asia “Student Wellbeing Award” In The Education Awards of 2023. Find out how Nexus has been promoting wellbeing in the school.
Nexus International School (Singapore)
As a school for learners aged 3 - 18 years old, we love sharing our insights on education, learner wellbeing and learning in general.
