Program Environmental Club - Namibia

Water
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1. Water - a valuable resource

Examples from around the world of what happens if people do not
take care of the water resource
Materials "Learning from Sustainable Living" - Water, "Pacham" p. 22-23,
26-27
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2. The water cycle

Know about the water cycle. Measure water evaporation - from a
plate and from a plate with plant in a pot. To see how much water
evaporates through plants.
Materials "Learning from Sustainable Living" - Water
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3. Waste water
Examine what is done with waste water in your area. Find a place
where waste water drains out. Make a vetiver grass nursery there.
Materials Gaia Booklet 6e
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4. Where does your water come from?

Know about the water in your area. Visit the pumping
station/treatment plant if there is one. Where does the water come
from? Where does it go to? How much is used in households?
farms? etc.

Materials
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5. Water and diseases

Know about the diseases carried by water. How do you prevent
infections by worms and microorganisms? Are there any areas with
infection problems? Make a cleaning system with duckweed, water
hyacinth or other water weeds.
Materials Gaia Booklet 6e, Pacham p. 24-25

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6. Water pollution
Find out if there are any areas with water pollution. Make
experiments with salad seeds to find out how various products affect
growth. Try with soapy water, salty water, water with old radio
batteries.
Materials www.gaia-movement.org "Gaia Actions" "Testing Water Pollution"
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7. Water and vegetation

Know about the desert spreading and how it is affecting your area.
Visit some old people and let them tell how the area was 50 years
ago.
Materials DAPP Treeplanting and Environment? Pacham p. 34-37
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8. Saving water
Know about different ways to save water in the household and in the
garden. Make a bucket drip irrigation system. Make dung "tea".
Reuse waste water. Make a campaign in the area to get people to use
water economically.
Materials Gaia Booklet 7e
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9. Salt water
Know about the problems salt give in ground water and on farmland.
Learn what is important to do to avoid the problem by interviewing
some farmers.
Materials Pacham p. 38-39
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10. Collecting rainwater

Know about different systems to collect rainwater. Build a system at
your school, where you use tubular plastic.
Materials Gaia Booklet 10e

Energy
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11. Where does energy come from?
Wording Learn about fossil fuels, renewable energy, global warming.
Materials "Learning from Sustainable Living" - Energy
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12. Build a solar cooker

Learn about solar energy. Build a solar cooker of cardboard and soft
drink cans
Materials Gaia Course 5e Build a Solar Cooker, Gaia Manual 4e
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13. Build a solar drier

Learn about solar energy. Build a solar drier for drying fruit or green
leaves
Materials Gaia Booklet 2e
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14. Build fuel saving stoves

Build a fuel saving stove from sheet metal. Make tests to see how
much firewood is used on your stove compared to the "3 stone"
system
Materials Gaia Course 3e Build Fuel Saving Stoves, Gaia Manual 5e
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15. Make a model of a biogas system

Learn about biogas, how it is produced and why it is a good system.
Make a model out of plastic containers, bottles and tubes.

Materials
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16. Renewable energy

Learn about the renewable energy systems - hydropower, wind
turbines, biomass power plants, solar water heaters, solar panels.
Visit a system if possible. Where does your power come from?
Materials "Learning from Sustainable Living" - Energy
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17. Jatropha - grow your own lampoil and diesel

Start production of jatropha at your school. Grow them from cuttings
and make a fence. Learn how oil from the seeds can be used for lamp
oil, soap making or diesel. Make an oil lamp from a glass, cork or
palm rib, tin foil and a wick.
Materials Gaia manual 11e
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18. Grow your firewood and improve the soil while the field rests
Learn how it is possible to improve the soil with pigeon pea. How it

is possible to improve the soil, while you get food for animals and
firewood. Start growing pigeon peas at the school, so you can
distribute seeds.
Materials Gaia Course 10e Grow your own Fertiliser, Gaia Booklet 8e
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19. Build a briquette press

Build a manual briquette press from timber. Use waste paper soaked
in water, mixed with plant waste, sawdust, etc. Dry them in the sun.
Materials Gaia Course 6e Build a Briquette Press, Gaia Manual 6e

Soil
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20. Make a compost heap

Learn about why the soil is so important, and how it can be
improved. How is your soil - sand or clay? What is the difference?
Make a compost heap using garden cuttings, food rests, water
weeds, etc. Keep it watered. Why is it warm inside?
Materials "Learning from Sustainable Living" - Soil
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21. Organisms in the soil

Learn about earthworms and other soil organisms. What is their role.
Find as many as you can, and if you can what they live of.
Materials "Learning from Sustainable Living" - Soil
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22. Mineral cycles

Learn about how all minerals are recycled. Grow groundnuts, peas or
beans in some pots. See after some time how the roots form small
lumps. These are bacteria, which can take nitrogen from the air, so
the plant can use it to grow.
Materials "Learning from Sustainable Living" - Soil

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23. Soil and water

Find out how much water different kinds of soils can store - sand,
clay, good garden soil.
Make two test areas where you keep one covered with dead plant
material and one open. Grow the same plants and give the same
amount of water once a week. Notice differences in temperature and
moisture in the two soils.
Materials "Learning from Sustainable Living" - Soil,
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24. Soil erosion

Learn about how wind and water can erode soil if there is no
vegetation to protect it. Find some places in your area where you see
the effects of erosion. Plant vetiver grass from your nursery there at
the start of the rainy season. Plant it in a part of the area, and follow
it to see what effect it has.
Materials "Learning from Sustainable Living" - Soil, Gaia Course 1e Ways to
control erosion, Gaia Booklet 7e
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25. Waste sorting and recycling

Where does the waste from your area go? Organise and carry out a
clean up action. What should be done to all the plastic?

Materials
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26. Permanent planting holes

Make a test area where you grow moringa trees (or other plants) in
holes prepared with compost, crushed snail shells, ashes, termite soil.
Compare with an area without this but with the same plants, and
same amount of water.
Materials Gaia Course 9e Conservation Farming. Gaia Manual 1e. Gaia
Manual 10e

The Living Earth

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27. Why is it important to protect nature

Find out how the nature in your area has changed during the last 50
years by talking to old people. What animals, birds and trees have
disappeared. Has this changed anything?
Materials "Learning from Sustainable Living" - Ecosystems. Pacham p. 10-13
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28. Make a closed ecosystem

Learn about food chains and nutrient cycles. Make many different
closed ecosystems in jars with tight closing lids. Water systems and
dry systems with plants and various small snails, worms, insects and
some plants. Find out where the animals are placed in the food chain.
See which systems can last for the longest time, and why.
Materials www.gaia-movement.org "Gaia Actions" "Build closed ecosystem"
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29. Treeplanting
Why are trees important. Collect seeds of ana trees. The seedlings
should not be moved so plant them in an area close to the oshanas
(river beds) and look after them.
Materials DAPP Treeplanting and Environment ? Pacham p. 40-41
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30. Why do we need insects

Learn about the importance of insects. Follow the bees and find out
what they do. Visit a bee keeper. Study the termites. What would
happen if there were no termites?
Materials "Learning from Sustainable Living" - Soils + Ecosystems
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31. Grow your own pesticides

Learn about pesticides - their benefits and dangers. Plant fish bean
and neem trees and make your own pesticide, which is not harmful
to people.
Materials Gaia Manual 9e
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32. What are birds and animals good for

Find out what birds you have in your area. Find out what they eat.
What would happen if there were no birds? Get someone to go
with you to find animals tracks and signs. Which animals are they
from and what do they live of?
Materials "Learning from Sustainable Living" - Ecosystems, Pacham p 46-49
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33. Mopane regrowth

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Why are the mopane forests disappearing? Select your own area,
where the mopane trees are managed so that the forest can be
reestablished. Try the different systems as in the DAPP trials.
Plant jatropha fence around a small area to see what difference this
makes. And to have a place from where you can sell jatropha
cuttings for fences to protect fields against domestic animals.
Materials DAPP Treeplanting and Environment ? Gaia Manual 11e
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34. Fires - a destructive system

Find out if fires are a problem in your area. What starts the fires?
How do the fires affect the quality of the soil?
Materials Gaia Manual 1e
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35. What can you do about environmental problems

Discuss the ten commitments set up by the UNEP Global Youth
Forum. Discuss what is the main environmental problem in your
area. What are the solutions. Meet with local headmen/politicians
to hear their plans and discuss your ideas.
Materials Pacham p 66-67