ASEAN Eco-Schools - Nurturing green habits for future generations

The workshop attracted more than 100 delegates attending in person and more than 1,000 online locations nationwide.

This is a key activity within the framework of the ASEAN Vietnam Eco-School Award 2025, attracting more than 100 delegates to attend in person and more than 1,000 online connections nationwide.

The workshop introduced and guided schools in applying the ASEAN Eco-School Criteria to teaching, management and extracurricular activities. This was also an opportunity for schools that had won awards or implemented the model to share experiences, helping teachers and managers understand and flexibly apply the criteria in practice. At the same time, the workshop created a forum to connect schools, management agencies and social organizations with the common goal: building a "Plastic Waste Free School".

Since 2022, the “Plastic-Free Schools” model, funded by Norway through WWF-Vietnam, has been implemented in 180 schools, with more than 54,000 students participating. Of these, 83 pilot schools have collected nearly 30 tons of waste, including more than 5.5 tons of plastic. The results show a clear change in students’ awareness and behavior when encouraged to act for the environment.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Le Cong Thanh, environmental education is not only the responsibility of schools, but also the foundation for forming a community with awareness and practical actions to protect the planet. When reducing plastic becomes a daily lesson, students not only learn how to protect the environment but also learn how to live responsibly with the world around them.

Mr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, Director of the Department of International Cooperation, said that many countries in the region have models worth learning from. In Thailand, students make fertilizer from organic waste. In Indonesia, they exchange waste for books. In Malaysia, schools grow clean vegetable gardens in the schoolyard. And Singapore assigns each class a “Green Ambassador” to promote environmental protection. These models show that schools are not only places to teach literacy, but also places to form green living habits.

In Vietnam, many schools have pioneered in reducing plastic, recycling waste and creating learning spaces close to nature, in which Hue city is a bright spot of the "Plastic-reducing urban" movement.

The ASEAN Eco-Schools criteria set was developed with four goals: to help schools understand and apply green-clean-sustainable criteria; to share effective models; to connect parties to take action; and most importantly, to nurture in each student a love for the environment and the planet as their own home.

Protecting the environment starts with small things. It is as simple as not littering in the school yard, using personal water bottles instead of disposable plastic bottles, planting a tree in the classroom. When these actions become habits, they will form an ecological lifestyle that spreads from school to the community, as the message: "Small actions every day will contribute to creating a green future for the country, where you, the future owners, grow up on a livable planet" Mr. Tuan conveyed.

QUANG TIEN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/truong-hoc-sinh-thai-asean-uom-mam-thoi-quen-xanh-cho-the-he-tuong-lai-post916876.html