In a concerted effort to promote virtue development, environmental sustainability, and community engagement; the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Sub County Director of Embakasi Central, in collaboration with the Centre for Character and Leadership (CCL) and East African Cables spearheaded a tree growing drive. The stakeholders donated and engaged learners in Komarock Primary, Komarock South Primary and Busara Primary School to plant and take care of over 400 tree seedlings as part of adopt a tree and tag a virtue initiative.
The ‘Adopt a tree and tag a virtue initiative’ is a service-learning best practice which is implemented by involving the learners to plant, adopt and tag the trees with environmental related virtues which they aim to nurture in life as the trees grow. Research shows that nurturing of virtues such as appreciation of beauty, love of learning, bravely, curiosity, spirituality, gratitude, social intelligence, kindness and zest predicts development of positive environmental attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. Also, students who are exposed to nature through environmental education tend to experience nature connectedness.
Through the adopt a tree and tag a virtue initiative, learners take on the responsibility of caring for their tree and the development of their chosen virtues as a ‘personal project’ under the guidance of a teacher or staff mentor. The trees include both the indigenous and fruit trees.
During the occasion, students received education on tree planting, nurturing of virtues, and environmental conservation. This holistic approach fosters character development alongside environmental awareness. Ms. Pauline, TSC Sub County Director addressed the learners and the teachers and emphasized on the need of taking care of mother nature as she said, “In the Bible, human beings are commanded to take care of God’s Creation.” Mr. Peter King’ori, Director of Character Education Programme, reiterated CCL’s commitment in the cultivation of virtues in learners through experiential learning approach as he said, “we champion development of good character through nurturing of virtues.’
In conclusion, this collaborative effort between CCL, East African Cables, TSC Sub County Office and local educational institutions in Embakasi Central exemplifies the power of collective action in nurturing virtues and restoring greener spaces in schools. By investing in environmental sustainability and character development, we nurture future generations of responsible citizens, contributing to a better future for our communities and the environment.
References
Diessner, R., & Niemiec, R. M. (2022). Can beauty save the world? The character strength of appreciation of beauty predicts proenvironmental behavior and moral elevation better than 23 other major character strengths. Manuscript under review.
Merino, A., Valor, C., & Redondo, R. (2020). Connectedness is in my character: The relationship between nature relatedness and character strengths. Environmental Education Research, 26(12), 1707-1728.