We train your teachers rather than sending ours. It takes longer to set up and it is still running three years later, which the alternative was not.
What the programme includes
- Two days of teacher training, delivered at your school or a nearby partner school.
- Curriculum materials in English, mapped to the existing syllabus rather than added on top of it.
- Help establishing a school tree nursery, with seed and polythene supplied for the first cycle.
- A field visit to a restored stretch of the river, with transport covered.
- Assessment for rainwater harvesting, where the roof and the need justify it.
- An annual visit to see how it is going and to refresh materials.
What each side commits to
| We provide | The school provides |
|---|---|
| Teacher training and materials, free | At least one teacher's time for the training and the sessions |
| Seed, polythene and nursery setup | A patch of ground and someone to water it |
| Transport for one field visit a year | Supervision and parental consent for the visit |
| Annual follow-up | An honest answer about whether it is still running |
Safeguarding
Any of our staff working with pupils does so under our safeguarding policy, alongside your own. We never work unaccompanied with children, and photographs of pupils are taken only with the school's and the parent's consent.
From first enquiry to a running programme
- 1
You write, we visit
A field officer comes to the school, sees the grounds, and talks to whoever would actually be teaching it. This visit is where most of the practical problems surface.
- 2
Two days of teacher training
At your school or a nearby partner school. Delivered to teachers, not to pupils, because a programme that depends on our staff being present ends when they stop coming.
- 3
The nursery goes in
Seed and polythene for the first cycle, a patch of ground from you, and somebody named who will water it. That last part decides whether it survives the first holiday.
- 4
Lessons run within the existing syllabus
The materials are mapped to what teachers already have to cover rather than added on top of it. Teachers have no spare periods and we do not pretend otherwise.
- 5
A field visit, transport covered
Pupils see a restored stretch and a degraded one on the same morning. The comparison does more than the lesson before it.
- 6
An annual visit and an honest answer
Once a year we come back and ask whether it is still running. Where it has stopped we want to know why, because that is more useful to the next school than a success story.
Why the programme is teacher-led
The first version was not. Our staff delivered sessions directly, which produced good lessons, enthusiastic pupils and nothing at all the following year once the field officer's time went elsewhere. Teacher-led training takes longer to set up and is still running three years later at the schools that took it on.
It also means the programme survives a change of field officer, a funding gap, or a season when the whole team is committed to planting. The knowledge is in the school rather than in our diary.
Questions head teachers ask
What does it cost?
Nothing. Training, materials, first-cycle seed and polythene, and the transport for one field visit a year are all covered. What it costs you is a teacher's time.
Which schools can join?
Schools in Mbarara, Rwampara and Isingiro. If you are outside those districts, tell us where you are and we will say honestly whether we can reach you rather than adding you to a list that goes nowhere.
Do we need land for the nursery?
A patch is enough. Where there is genuinely no ground, the programme still runs without the nursery component, and we will say so rather than pretending the school has the full programme.
What about rainwater harvesting?
Assessed where the roof area and the need justify it. It is not part of every school's package, because a tank on a building that cannot fill it helps nobody.
Who is responsible for pupils on a field visit?
The school, as with any trip. Our staff never work unaccompanied with children, we operate under our safeguarding policy alongside yours, and photographs of pupils are taken only with the school's and the parents' consent.
Get the programme at your school
Currently open to schools in Mbarara, Rwampara and Isingiro. Tell us where you are and we will say honestly whether we can reach you.