H2O vita est - Water is life

Le Projet d’établissement (2024-2027)

Description

Water is a vital resource for humanity, playing a crucial role in various aspects of our lives. It is essential to the survival of all living organisms, including humans, animals and plants. Without water, life as we know it would not exist. Hence the title of our school project: H2O vita est, which means ‘Water is life’ in Latin. Water is also crucial to agriculture, providing the moisture needed for plant growth and food production. Water has many other uses, including industry (e.g. manufacturing, mining, nuclear power generation), transport (waterways) and leisure (fishing, swimming, boating, scuba diving).

But despite its importance, access to clean, safe water remains a challenge for many people around the world. In 2024, more than 2 billion people did not have access to clean, safe drinking water. Lack of access to water can lead to drought, famine, diseases and even conflicts over resources. It is therefore essential that we manage this resource sustainably to ensure its availability for future generations. We understand that a school project (Pé, Projet d'établissement) on the subject of water is crucial and essential to all members of the school community. Its importance cannot be overstated, hence the importance of our pupils learning to manage this vital resource in a sustainable way to ensure its availability for future generations.

Objectives/expected results :

In concrete terms, our Pé aims to raise awareness of water conservation within the school community and encourage students to take responsibility for the environment.

• Develop a critical approach to the importance, management and use of water
• Understand the value of water in our daily lives
• Raise awareness of water conservation within the school community
• Take responsibility for the environment
• Reduce our household water footprint
• Develop solutions for good water management
• Analyse the links between climate change and the availability of fresh water (drinking and sanitation)
• Protecting and restoring local aquatic ecosystems
• Carry out chemical analyses of the water in our rivers
• Reduce the spread of chemical pollutants in plastics between the sea and rivers
• Passing on our know-how and skills to the public

Actions

The Pé actions are defined in three pillars:

• Project week: pupils from S1 to S3 will be made aware of water-related issues, while pupils in S4 will be required to do interdisciplinary work.
• School outings and visits to companies involved in drinking water treatment, water management and transport, wastewater treatment or hydroelectric power station electricity production; S4 pupils will be involved.
• Long-term projects to create a closed-loop ecosystem:
  • construction of a pond,
  • hydroponics, which involves growing plants in water with essential nutrients, without soil or growing media,
  • aquaponics, an integrated farming system that combines aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics.

• Integrating the "EIMAB4Nature" group, which brings together students and teaching and non-teaching staff to work on one or more projects. Participation in a group is optional for students in S4 and above, and they operate with complete autonomy in terms of commitment and organisation. The groups are committed to carrying out various projects: developing a pond, building a hydroponic system, creating an extra-curricular learning space, growing fruit and vegetables or building a greenhouse.

Team

Pé - "H2O vita est - Water is life" TEAM Membres:

APOSTOLICI Isabelle, BOLLOW Tatjana, BUIJS Julie, FRIEDERICI Alain, HARRIS Robert, MELCHER Luc, ULMANN Didier