Eco: Challenge Environmental and Conservation Scheme at San Pascual National High School

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Environmental degradation poses a threat to the existence of humanity today both in rural and urban settlements. In such a scenario, the importance and need for environmental education as a tool for environmental management and conservation cannot be overemphasized. The problem of garbage disposal at school started in June 2017. To resolve this, the teachers played a proactive role in improving the behavior of students to care for the environment and practice environmental conservation. In this study, we explored the extent of the learners' awareness levels in environmental conservation and the perceived reasons in conserving resources.

METHODS

The data gathering procedure namely, survey method and retrospective interview were used. Also, the following data gathering tools namely; checklist, questionnaire, and retrospective interview guide were used to attain the objectives of this study. Thirty-two students were selected from different grade levels by using cluster random sampling technique having 14 male and 18 female students. A retrospective interview followed in order to validate and confirm the responses given by the research participants.

RESULTS

The study has achieved its objectives and found out that the learners know the environmental issues and problems but know only a few causes and effects. First in rank was the knowledge of the greenhouse effect while second in rank is the soil erosion and ozone layer depletion. Results show that the majority of the respondents strongly agreed that the cleanliness of the school campus is the responsibility of everyone. The findings were evidenced by the average weighted mean in which the learners disagreed that environmental education is not as important as any other curriculum in school. This infers that learners realized the importance of environmental education at school.

DISCUSSIONS

The results demonstrate the need for environmental awareness and environmental sensitivity of the learners. The levels of awareness and attitudes towards the environment are high among students but the practices are still at a moderate level. On this matter, environmental educators such as teachers must come up with the new knowledge and techniques that address the demands of a constantly evolving social and technological landscape, while ensuring that environmental education stays relevant to the needs and interests of the community. A proposed action plan was presented to intensify environmental awareness and produce an eco-friendly environment.