Scan the QR code below to apply now and become a SAS Eagle!
The classroom is a fertile ground for learning sustainability. International schools across Shanghai cultivate young minds and plant the seeds of green consciousness. With care and tending, students grow and sprout new skills like problem solving to tackle environmental issues, and entrepreneurship to make their ideas a reality. See how these budding environmentalists are greening their campuses.
Shanghai American School Puxi
Max Gu, Grade 12
How has your school improved in sustainability?
In 2022, the school created the Global Citizenship Coordinator role, which promoted environmental stewardship, and formed the student-led Environmental Stewardship Committee. We use motion-sensor lights to promote energy efficiency, and bathrooms across campus use waterless urinals and paper towels made from recycled materials. We even transport students using electric buses. Our Eagle Shop sources locally-made clothing from recycled waste and does not use single-use plastic wrapping. The school also supports ecological projects such as my compost project, which has composted nearly 100 kg of cafeteria kitchen waste.
How do you promote awareness?
Our school emphasizes the importance of environmental stewardship as a pathway to global citizenship. The elementary school has gardens in the playground, fostering an early love of natural processes. The middle school hosts annual Shark Tank events that encourage students to create sustainable solutions to social needs. There are student-led environmental protection and justice clubs in high school. We also encourage responsible use of resources and ethical travel practices.
What goals do you have?
We have set ambitious goals for the future, including becoming a single-use plastic-free campus, reducing material waste, and fully integrating technology into school courses to offset paper use. Our school aims to encourage Zero Waste Week. Lastly, we aim to expand the Environmental Stewardship Committee to a campus-wide committee to ensure that environmental sustainability is a priority across all areas of our school.
Shanghai American School Pudong
Dr. Aiza Kashif, HS Biology and Environmental Science
How has your school improved in sustainability?
SAS teaches environmentalism through Sustainable Development Goals in early education and offering high-level courses like IBESS and AP environmental science. As the advisor for the Roots and Shoots club, we focus on Gardening, Recycling, Little Sprouts, and special projects. For experiential learning out in the field, we visited Will Farm, where students learned about drip irrigation, organic fertilizers and conducted water quality tests in a lake.
How do you promote awareness?
Every April, we celebrate Earth Week with trivia games, seed planting, and creating organic salads from our kitchen garden, engaging the entire community. Our school also participates in the Million Tree Project, where students fundraise and plant trees in Inner Mongolia’s desert, contributing to the cultivation of 2,400 trees so far. To boost environmental literacy, high school students visit elementary classrooms to lead hands-on activities, while 8th-grade STEM students apply their environmental fieldwork in passion projects. Personally, I volunteer as a river inspector with local authorities to combat water pollution. I regularly monitor local rivers and upload reports, modeling the importance of environmental commitment for my students.
What goals do you have?
In the Environmental Systems and Societies course, we address global cooperation through SDG 17, focusing on strengthening partnerships for sustainable development. We aim to connect this learning with hands-on experiences, including plans to participate in the UN Climate Change Conference (COP) in the future. We are also thrilled about the upcoming visit from Dr. Jane Goodall, a pioneer in environmental activism and conservation.
Shumin Liu (Bella), Grade 12, Co-president of Roots & Shoots, Citizen Action Council Sustainability Liaison
How has your school improved in sustainability?
In Roots & Shoots club, our Gardening Sector maintains an outdoor garden and green classrooms. We created the garden from scratch and are currently growing radishes. Last year, we grew lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, and garlic. Each member is paired with specific teachers to assist with plant care, such as providing soil, transplanting, and offering advice on maintenance.
How do you promote awareness?
Promoting environmental awareness is a gradual process that requires lots of time and dedication. I do my best to stay focused and avoid burnout by finding allies who care like I do. I also realize I can’t do everything so I also stay true to my passion: gardening. I model environmentalism by tending the garden a lot.
What goals do you have?
My goal is to take the members to an organic “fry try farm”. That farm is special because there are no grids for each type of vegetable. Harvesting on that farm is like searching for treasure because all the plants are grown together. I want the members to learn from first-hand experience about this natural farming method and embrace the joy of being in this rich land.
German School Shanghai
Christopher Rothe, preschool teacher at the German School Shanghai Hongqiao
Angelina Born, preschool teacher at the German School Shanghai Hongqiao
How has your school improved in environmental sustainability?
At the German School Shanghai, we are continuously improving in environmental sustainability. All stakeholders involved in our school community contribute to this and environmental and climate protection are accordingly anchored in both the school curriculum and the daycare concept. Our parents are also actively involved in the green development of our school through a designated environmental committee. All the learning content that goes along with the topic of environmentalism is expressed by our children and teachers in the most colourful and creative ways on our campus at exhibitions, debating competitions, our own gardens, flea markets, campaigns and working groups that deal with environmental awareness, recycling and ecological compatibility.
How do you promote environmental awareness?
Already in kindergarten and preschool, we continuously foster environmental awareness of the children, particularly through practical projects. The biggest challenge here is the sustainability of such projects and the actual change in the children’s behaviors and ways of thinking toward their own roles and what they can do to protect the environment. For this, we have creative approaches within our project work that go beyond classroom, making the topic comprehensible to the children on different levels.
In our last project on “Oceans,” we went to a local beach with parents and children to collect rubbish and collaborated with the school band “Icy Fire,” to record a song about the importance of clean oceans, the children gave presentations about their favorite sea creatures and had a live-streamed exchange with a shark expert from the UK, which covered a lot of questions from our preschoolers.
What goals do you have for future environmental awareness?
Our future goal is to continuously inspire our children with enthusiasm for nature, plants and animals and to discover and explore these topics together letting them gain a lasting knowledge, diverse skills and behaviors that lead to an adequate environmental awareness in their lives.
As educators, we also see it as our duty to be inspired by these topics ourselves and to be part of the learning processes as companions and role models for the children. It is important not to stand still, but to keep developing new ideas for smaller and larger adjustments along the way. Like finding ways to make our materials last longer at the school through good handling, or to repair or repurpose them. We will continue to enter additional networks and collaborations with international and local environmental organizations and experts to look beyond the boundaries of our own teaching room.
Dulwich College Shanghai Pudong
Gloria M, Year 11 (Grade 10) Sustainability Committee Chairperson
How has your school improved in environmental sustainability?
Dulwich College Shanghai Pudong recently established its first Sustainability Committee. While the college has always placed strong emphasis on environmental initiatives, the Sustainability Committee’s unique approach has been key to ensuring real progress in this area. Once a term, we bring together key members of the various departments in the school to ensure that all aspects of college life are working together towards a more sustainable campus. Meetings involve our groupwide Head of Sustainability and Global Citizenship, our DBA, Director of Global Citizenship, and leading representatives from operations, catering, procurement and support staff, as well as teacher representatives. The opportunity to bring our ideas to the team of adults who are in a position to advise on how to make them a reality has allowed us to drive forward the installation of automatic lighting, audit the school’s air conditioning systems, and conduct a campaign to minimise paper waste. Our Social Enterprise Club have recently acquired an industry-standard composter which processes 30kg of food waste daily. This is used to enrich the soil in our beautiful grounds.
A successful drive to collect paper from half-used notebooks
How do you promote environmental awareness?
The Sustainability Committee promotes environmental awareness through various channels. We conduct assemblies on sustainability topics, such as the sustainable use of AI, addressing audiences in the Junior School, Senior School, and even in the staff room. An ongoing project is our weekly “Global Citizenship Journal” in which we share curated resources around a range of sustainability issues. We maintain a dedicated “Sustainability Wall” on display to provoke deep thinking about a diverse range of sustainability topics. For the younger students, we conduct monthly quizzes to drive more enthusiasm for learning about sustainability in a fun and engaging manner. One challenge we faced was involving all students in these initiatives, but we addressed this by incorporating interactive activities and discussions to foster greater participation. Now that the Sustainability Committee has gained momentum, we have seen greater success in achieving larger structural and policy changes with the support of the school management.
What goals do you have for future environmental awareness?
Looking ahead, we aim to create outdoor classrooms to enhance learning about the environment while promoting a deeper connection to nature. The benefits of outdoor classrooms include improved student engagement, enhanced understanding of ecological systems, and increased awareness of environmental issues. We have also identified areas where we could plant sedum. These low-maintenance rooftop plants help offset carbon dioxide emissions while enhancing the aesthetic appeal of our campus. Currently, we are developing our trips policy to include carbon-offsetting, with the aim of making our school trips carbon-neutral and creating awareness. Additionally, we plan to host an inter-House food waste reduction competition. This initiative aims not only to minimize food waste but also to instill a sense of responsibility and awareness about food consumption among students.
Shanghai French School
Tess Volpini, School Dean
How has your school improved in environmental sustainability?
Last year, we participated in the International Sustainable Development Film Festival 2024 organized by the Lycée Français de Hong Kong. Our 2-minute film in the “Impact” category won the Golden Award. It was screened during Sustainable Development Week in April, raising awareness among our peers. Additionally, we educated students about food sustainability through the exhibition “Mon assiette, ma planète,” provided by the French consulate. We also cultivated radishes, beans, zucchini, and cucumbers in our school garden.
How do you promote environmental awareness?
To promote environmental awareness, we organize workshops, screenings, and exhibitions that engage our fellow students. One challenge we’ve faced is encouraging participation in green initiatives, as some students may not see their importance. To overcome this, we emphasize the immediate benefits of sustainability practices and make our activities interactive, fostering a sense of community and shared responsibility.
What goals do you have for future environmental awareness?
In the future, we plan to implement a project to plant trees across both campuses. This initiative aims to enhance biodiversity, improve air quality, and further educate our community about the importance of trees in combating climate change. By involving students in this project, we hope to deepen their commitment to environmental stewardship.
Yew Chung International School Shanghai
Jake, Y13, Climate Action Prefect
How has your school improved in environmental sustainability?
At YCIS, we’ve made impressive strides in environmental sustainability over the past two years. Our initiatives include student-led clubs focused on reducing plastic use and fostering garden growth. We’ve successfully eliminated single-use plastic bottles from our cafeteria and café, promoting eco-friendly alternatives and a re-usable water bottle culture.
Sustainability is woven into our curriculum and daily culture, with recent emphasis on water conservation, energy efficiency, sustainable fashion and our consumption habits, and reducing food waste. For example, middle school students designed and installed a rainwater collection system to irrigate our “Green Thumb” garden, demonstrating hands-on learning in action.
Additionally, our art students collaborated to create large murals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the stairwell, inspiring the community to embrace these vital targets. Through these efforts, YCIS is not just teaching sustainability; we’re living it, empowering our students to make a positive environmental impact now and in the future.
How do you promote environmental awareness?
At YCIS, our Climate Action Prefects collaborate with the Sustainability Coordinator to boost environmental awareness among students and teachers. Regular articles in our Daily News cover topics from cafeteria food policies to the harmful effects of microplastics.
While we’ve launched several initiatives, some have faced challenges. For instance, despite efforts to reduce food waste, tangible changes have been slower than we hoped. However, we partnered with cafeteria staff to implement a new policy offering smaller serving sizes unless otherwise requested, which coupled with advocacy and education campaigns, is making a significant impact in reducing food waste.
Similarly, the switch from single-use plastic water bottles to refillable ones at school was challenging. Our initial strategies, murals and inspirational videos, fell short of our goals. It wasn’t until we convinced the cafeteria to replace bottled water with eco-friendly tetra-pack options that we saw real change. These experiences teach us that advocacy alone isn’t enough; practical solutions and collaboration for policy changes are essential for meaningful progress.
What goals do you have for future environmental awareness?
Our ongoing programs like the Green Thumb gardening CCA and Daily News articles raise awareness and foster a love for nature. However, we recognize the need to rethink our daily habits, especially in a city like Shanghai, where online orders and instant deliveries are commonplace.
To further our environmental awareness, the Climate Action Prefects have selected bioaccumulation as our next focus. We’re creating a mural featuring the phrase “You take in what you take out,” illustrating how those at the top of the food chain, including humans, are affected by microplastics. This collage will be made from take-out trash collected from our school community, transforming waste into art and sparking crucial conversations about sustainability. Through these initiatives, we aim to deepen our community’s understanding of environmental issues and inspire meaningful change in our daily practices.
Teen Tales: Bringing My Jia Xiang Into the Age of AI
Should I Send My Child to Boarding School in the UK?
