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Green Flag - Eco-Schools program

Last modified: 2009-05-24 by rob raeside
Keywords: ecoschools campaign | green flag | ecology | environmentalism |
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[Eco Schools flag] image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 7 April 2009

It is likely that this flag is never used without the words FEE on some location on the flag. This may therefore be an archivexillum ("template design") of the Green Flag.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 7 April 2009

See also:

Other sites:

The Eco Schools campaign

The Eco Schools campaign originated in Denmark in the early 1990s. The idea of making school children environmentally aware was later taken over and developed by the Danish Friluftsradet and the campaign spread to other European countries. The flag and logotype was developed by a French design firm. The flag is an award given to those schools that achieve certain goals in relation to protecting the environment. In other words, it is a companion of the Blue flag of clean beaches.
Source: Rolf Lindquist, Europeiska miljo flaggor [lqu99a], Nordisk Flaggkontakt [nfk], No. 29 (Autumn), 1999.
Jan Oskar Engene, 17 March 2000

The Green Flag is awared to Eco-Schools as a mark of high achievement in environmental education and performance as part of the Eco-Schools Programme lead by FEE, Foundation for Environmental Education. Until 2001 the organization was called FEEE - Foundation for Environmental Education in Europe, but since now there are non-European members, the name was changed. FEE also awards the Blue Flag for beaches and marinas (presumably now they are also inscribed FEE instead of FEEE). Unlike the Blue Flag that is awarded for particular year and one which the year is inscribed in canton, the Green Flag apparently have no year on the flag itself (maybe because schools typically have less money to change flag every year then the marinas).
Željko Heimer, 17 April 2004

Eco-Schools is a programme for environmental management and certification, designed to implement sustainable development education in schools by encouraging children and youth to take an active role in how their school can be run for the benefit of the environment. Eco-Schools is one of the programmes of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE - www.fee-international.org) and, as such, it is implemented through FEE Member organizations (one per country). Currently, the Programme is being implemented by 46 delegations in 43 countries around the world, involving 27,000 schools, 6,000,000 students, 400,000 teachers and 4,000 local authorities.
Ivan Sache, 6 April 2009

National Variations

Here is a summary of the available sightings of the Eco-Schools flags in the different countries partners of the programme - the list of the national contact organisms is given at http://www.eco-schools.org/countries_contacts.php.

  1. The most commonly used flag is green with the emblem of the programme in the middle and the "Fee©" writing in the lower left corner of the flag. Photographs of the flag are available for the following countries:

    2. 2. Specific, national variants of the flag
    2a. Portugal (as "Eco-Escolas")
    Flag with "ECO - ESCOLA 2007 / 2008" (on two lines) in the upper left corner
    http://www.cm-matosinhos.pt/PageGen.aspx?WMCM_PaginaId=10548
    http://www.soberaniadopovo.pt/portal/index.php?news=8495
    http://www.cm-agueda.pt/PageGen.aspx?WMCM_PaginaId=27652&noticiaId=36997&pastaNoticiasReqId=35276
    http://escolas.madeira-edu.pt/eb1perddias/NotíciasEventos/tabid/2768/ctl/Read/mid/3879/NoticiaId/2032/Default.aspx
    http://www.epatv.pt/v1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=153:galardao-eco-escola&catid=1:noticias-recentes&Itemid=61
    http://www.cm-feira.pt/portal/site/cm-feira/template.MAXIMIZE/noticias/?javax.portlet.tpst=6d661691957429f8584a07afd0af8a0c_ws_MX&javax.portlet.prp_6d661691957429f8584a07afd0af8a0c_viewID=article_view&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&docPath=2FConteudos2FArtigos%2FArquivo%2F2008%2FEscola+E.B.+Arrifana+recebe+Bandeira+Verde_1225127588265&category=&page=news

    Idem with "2006 / 2007"
    http://www.cm-sintra.pt/Artigo.aspx?ID=4422
    http://ecoescolasmarco.blogs.sapo.pt/2007/11/

    Idem with "2005 / 2006"
    http://www.peniche.oestedigital.pt/CustomPages/ShowPage.aspx?pageid=2763f069-9552-45fa-bd28-e642a2ff844d

    Earlier flags, reported below, had the writing on the upper right corner
    http://hluz.no.sapo.pt/eco_escolas.htm "2002 / 2003"

    2b. Slovenia (as "Eko Šola")
    The flag, for vertical use, has a different emblem, based of course on the campaign's generic emblem:
    - There is a green ribbon, with a white left end and a blue right end, surrounding the logo, completed in base by the writing "EKO ŠOLA" (green) / "KOT NAČIN ŽIVLJENJA" ("As a way of life; in blue, smaller letters");
    - The word "SLOVENIJA" is added, in green letters in the left part of the white book, to be read from bottom to top.
    http://www2.arnes.si/%7Eosmbtabii1/ekosola/eko_zastava_2.jpg
    http://www2.arnes.si/%7Eosmbtabii1/ekosola/zastava.htm

    2c. South Africa
    Flag with "ECO - SCHOOL" in the upper part of the white disk (2007)
    http://www.wessa.org.za/eduecoschools.asp
    http://pitlochrysp.co.za/Enviromental%20Club.htm
    http://www.krugerpark.co.za/krugerpark-times-2-22-eco-school-21627.html
    http://www.pafound.co.za/news/2007/n0015.html
    http://www.myggsa.co.za/connect/reports/1483/

    2d. Sweden
    Flag with the logo of HSR (Hålle Sverige Rent / Keep Sweden Tidy)
    Foundation instead of the FEE monogram
    http://www.kristianstad.se/sv/Skola/Skolomrade-6-Ahus/Forskolor/Sanna/Gron-flagg/
    http://www.lund.se/templates/Page____82963.aspx
    http://www.malmo.se/stadsdelar/centrum/forskolorgrundskolor/forskolor/gamlavaster/sodertullsforskola.4.33aee30d103b8f15916800033411.html
    http://www.mjolby.se/2581.html
    http://www.borlange.se/templates/BlgPage____20456.aspx

    3. Other variants
    3a. Flag without the "Fee©" writing Finland
    http://www.elaa.edu.hel.fi/ymparistoohjelma.htm
    http://www.turuntienoo.fi/uutiset/918/
    http://www.kokkola.fi/perusturva/paivahoito/paivakodit/peurankadun_paivakoti/fi_FI/vihrealippu/

    The Netherlands
    http://www.eco-schools.nl/

    South Africa
    http://www.cap.org.za/view.asp?ItemID=23&tname=tblComponent1&oname=News%20/%20Projects&flt=proj&pg=front

    3b. Flag with "Eco-Schools" in blue in the lower part of the disc
    Croatia
    djurdjevac.skole.hr/skola/projekti?ms_nav=aaa
    http://www.zzjzpgz.hr/nzl/9/umetak.htm

    Romania
    http://www.didactic.ro/index.php?cid=fotografie&g=5&user_id=1952&active=1
    "First Eco-School in north-western Romania" - the image seems quite old.

    Turkey
    http://www.obi.bilkent.edu.tr/ekookul/index.htm
    http://www.odtugvo.k12.tr/Ankara/izcilik.asp
    http://obiweb.bilkent.edu.tr/d231107.php
    http://okulweb.meb.gov.tr/07/15/739437/eko-okul/yesilbayrak/tekirova-halitnarin-eco-scholl.htm
    http://www.pirireis.k12.tr/icerik.php?sayfa=karsiyakailkogretimproje

    The same flag with something added in the lower right corner
    http://www.kulpmerkezilkogretimokulu.k12.tr/eko-okul.asp

    4. Participating countries without flag sighting
    Brazil - Bulgaria - Chile - China - Cyprus - Dominican Republic - France - Germany - Greece - Japan - Jordan - Kazakhstan - Kenya - Latvia - Lithuania - Macedonia - Morocco - Puerto Rico - Russia - Slovakia - Tunisia - Uganda - USA

Ivan Sache, 6 April 2009

Local version of the Eco Schools flag (Portugal)

[Eco School flag in Portugal] image by António Martins

In Escola Secundária Rainha Dona Leonor, a high school in Lisbon, the Eco School flag is displayed daily, in an equal-height pole to the left of the national flag, which is hoisted only on Sundays and holydays. In the upper fly there is some more lettering: "ECO-ESCOLAS 2002/2003". This obvious varies in language and dates, yielding some 15 different flags each year.
António Martins, 24 December 2003

Eco-schools is a programme of FEE, Foundation for Environmental Education, which Secretariat is hosted by the Danish Outdoor Council. The Green Flag and Eco-schools symbols are copyright and owned by FEE.
Sérgio T. Santos, 15 July 2005