As part of PTIS’s commitment to living the compass, every department on campus has been identifying ways to make changes to their operational procedures, looking at sustainability through the lens of Nature, Economy, Society and Well-being. The kitchen and catering department have identified the following actions.

Nature

• Monitoring of how much farm produce goes into the cafeteria, considering what else should be planted
• Maximizing the organic farm produce goes into our cafeteria
• Male toilet fitted with 6 urinal bowls reducing water use
• Counter top is cleaned with biodegradable shampoo and chlorine

Economy

• Supplies are bought from credible logistic suppliers/vendors who also supply various big food hall and hotels
• Only buying necessary stock, no money tied up in stock, getting better fresh products
• Separating different foods in different fridges with different temperatures to save energy
• Each fridge is temperature checked daily. Cleaning the fridge happens weekly

Society

• Alcohol gel dispensers for hand cleaning are available in cafeteria
• Food serving changed from buffet line to 4 hot serving pods in front of the kitchen
• Proper staff uniform with hair net, gloves while on duty
• Healthy food is served. Drive to reduce oil and sugar in food. Some cakes replaced by tropical desserts and traditional icy thai desserts
• Several newdishes recommended from food committee and students
• Staff and management visit to observe a frozen food export factory focusing on hygiene management and procedures
• Accrediting visit by local Thai Health Ministry office to issue Annual cleaning certificate

Well-being

• Getting rid of MSG
• Seasoning, sauces and kitchen supplies are good quality products, the same as those widely used in other food businesses
• Brown bread replaces white bread
• Getting away from Palm Oil and moving to other oil
• Meat, pork, fish, chicken are bought from ISO producers
• Building and equipping of Butcher room with air-con for proper room temperature for fresh meat
• Building separate areas to correctly separate kitchen waste and food during preparation and serving
• Providing secure, locked area for gas tank collection and storage
• Kitchen floor is cleaned with proper floor cleaner and chlorine
• Annual health check for any contagious disease, preventative strategy, cure, job rotation
• Sick staff scheduled to work in other reasonable area. If suspected with H1N1 or other flu staff will not be allowed to come into the kitchen
• 100% fruit juice is served in breakfast

Thoughts by Ben Sharman (PTIS Web Developer and Ubuntu Linux Administrator)


My experience of using OSS software over the last three years has progressed from experimental use to full-time in my job and at home. Through the knowledge I have gained in this period I believe the use of OSS is inherently more sustainable than closed source (proprietary) software.

What is Open Source Software?
OSS allows users to obtain the source code and install, copy, modify and redistribute the source code with few restrictions. Full definition

What does OSS have to do with sustainability?
The PTIS initiatives using the Atkisson Compass Model of Sustainability have made me realise that OSS is a great example of the model in action.

Nature:

Most Proprietary Software is still manufactured, packaged up, sold and purchased off the shelf (or by delivery requiring physical transportation) in plastic, cardboard boxes containing CDs or DVDs and paper manuals written in many languages. All OSS I have used has been downloaded via the internet with PDF or online manuals preserving our natural world from the pollution created by mass production and the depletion of natural resources.

Economy:

Many projects are free to use or FOSS (Free Open Source Software) and offered as downloads that you can share with others and install on as many machines as you wish. Michael Tiemann (from Red Hat) recently wrote How to Save $1 Trillion with Open Source backed by sound logic and figures. As a Web Developer using FOSS rather than proprietary software it is all too easy for me to believe this figure and his conclusions to be correct.

Society:

OSS projects are often initially developed by a small community who not only give their solutions to be used by society, but also benefit from their openness and transparency with an exchange of ideas, contributions and development from society.

Well-being:

In the Compass Model well-being is defined as "Our responsibility to care for each individual’s rights and needs" and I don't think I've seen a better example of this than Richard M Stallman's philosophy behind the Open Source movement along with the GNU GPL license and the Free Software Movement (FSF).

This document was written and delivered to the web using OSS:

• Operating System Ubuntu Linux 9.04
• Word Processor Open Office Writer
• Web Browser Firefox
• Photo Editing Gimp 2.6
• Development Environment Geany
• FTP Solution Filezilla

I'd like to thank the developers and communities behind these software products.

At PTIS International School, Senior School students have many great ideas for ways to improve the environment of their school and community. Many of these ideas have been shared and implemented within the school curriculum, and through both co-curricular and extra-curricular activities using the Compass Model for Sustainability.


Within the School Curriculum- After completing a workshop on Alan AtKisson’s Sustainability Models, some of the teaching staff have begun to use a "Compass Model for Sustainability" lens on our curriculum.

The compass model highlights multiple perspectives in relation to issues that present themselves during particular topics studied. The four points on the compass model N,S, E and W represent these perspectives in N(Nature), S (Society), E(Economy) and W(Well-being).

Example 1: Students in grade 8 MYP Science are required to use the compass model when approaching the issue of how to build a Sustainable Farm on a 10 Rai (3.95 acres) plot. All areas of the compass model must be presented when discussing how this sustainable farm can be created.

Example 2: In an activity called Farmers and Bankers, students in grade 9 MYP Maths use the compass model to help decide what products are needed in purchasing farm equipment, how loans are distributed and what gives the most sustainable outcome regarding simple interest rates and compound interest rates.

Example 3: IB Biology students are given the classic compass model problem on how to sustain proper fish population levels and maintain viable fishing seasons for up to 10 years in a row. Using a sustainable fishing game model, students decide, in "fishing groups", how many fish will be taken each season and why that number is required regarding society needs, profit needs, impact on the environment of the fish and well-being of the fisherman’s families.

Co-curricular and Extra-curricular- Several students have now begun to implement their own take on sustainability and the Compass Model through their co-curricular activities.

In one after-school club, Roots and Shoots for a Sustainable Future, the students wanted to improve the paper recycling within our school and the surrounding community. Using the Compass Model, students devised a plan to build a paper recycling center on campus.

The primary focus of the compass model was on Nature and the impact on waste disposal sites and tree cutting, but then the other three points on the compass model were considered. The students thought of Economy and how the recycle center might employ local people near the school to work with the paper recycling center.

In guided discussions, the students thought about creating paper products, such as gift cards and boxes that would display local area artwork from Northern Thailand and displaced persons from Burma (Myanmar).

The students considered the community’s Well-being and the employment such a paper recycling center might bring to the area as well as income derived from the sales of the gift cards and boxes. In Society, the students were able to think about the impact such an operation might have on local governments and laws regarding waste removal in the community. This project is still being worked on at the planning stages.

Many important works have been completed through another club, the Environmental Club. This year Roots and Shoots for a Sustainable Future will combine with Environmental Club to have an even greater impact on global issues and the challenges of a sustainable future.

Using the Pyramid Model for decision making, the students developed a name for their new organization by collaboratively voting on various titles and what each title meant to Sustainability.

Prospective titles were presented, analyzed and discussed. In the end, the whole club decided on ‘Eco-Revolution’ as the name that best defined the philosophy of what students hope to achieve with Sustainability.

On Earth-Day, 2009, grades 8 to 12 were put into mixed groups to use the Compass Model for Sustainability to consider issues related to a real school problem: "How to reduce Energy Consumption at PTIS International School?"

After using the Compass Model and creating banks of ideas about problems that contribute to energy consumption, the students used the Pyramid Model for decision making to arrive at a group agreed solution for the problems. It was a tremendous challenge to boil 180 ideas down to one solution, but within 2 hours and 45 minutes, it was achieved.

Using the Compass Model for Sustainability and the Pyramid Model for decision making allowed every voice to be heard and every idea to be recorded and discussed. Eventually, a decision was reached by the student body. As a consequences of this exercise, all members of the grade 8 through 12 had a say in the decision.

Chris Watson

MYP Science and IB Biology Teacher
PTIS International School

The Prem Magic Eyes Barge Program introduces the AtKisson Compass to students carrying out community investigations and river observations.

• It allows student groups to focus research on one compass area, and reflect on whether the indicators they come up with are an asset or a concern.
• It is a valuable tool to help students make links and consider the consequences of each point.
• It promotes critical thinking as students consider how each compass point interacts in real life.

Far away from the creature comforts of home, Qatar Academy grade 10 students staying in a Karen hill tribe village discussed the impacts of tourism and globalization with the village members.

Learning that the village just got electricity a year ago was a shock to the students and they all wondered what changes it will bring in the coming years.

After a week of studying development issues in Northern Thailand, the students with guidance from the Visiting Schools Program staff used the Compass Model to look at the main assets and concerns in the village.

They then discussed how those assets and concerns are often interconnected upon all four compass points, allowing them to create a sustainable development strategy for the village that incorporated wellbeing, society, nature, and economy.

Presenting their ideas, the students found that by using the compass model they were able to look at the overwhelming issue of globalization in bite size pieces.

PTIS Hand to Paw Animal Outreach


A student run community outreach program to look after the welfare and population of Temple dogs at Wat Nong Pla Mon. This is a joint effort with the Care for Dogs dog welfare organization who is providing free consultation, education visits, and will assist with 100% of all initial spaying- and vaccine costs for the 8 female dogs and 3 male dogs presently residing there.

NATURE:

A small community such a Nong Pla Mon can only sustain the well-being of street dogs on a very small scale. Village pet owners need to be made aware that sterilization of their female dogs will help unwanted pregnancies, which would further increase the population in their village. Neglect, abuse, malnutrition, pregnancy and disease are but a few of the negative impacts on nature if over-breeding is allowed to continue unabated.

ECONOMY:

Working together to promote a sustainable, healthy dog population will be provided by students from PTIS working together in fundraising projects and working with the dogs on a weekly or monthly basis. Students will see directly what their efforts are being used for. A hands-on commitment to a handful of dogs will raise not only community awareness, but a personal awareness that we hope will spread to other encounters in their lives with animal welfare. Immunizations, neutering/spaying and supplies will be paid through by the efforts of students fund-raising and donations from the public.

SOCIETY:

The concept of the program has been favorably accepted by the Luang Por and other monks from the temple along with Luang Noi, employee of PTIS and village elder of Nong Pla Mon and the gathering interest from PTIS students. This community effort is sure to benefit relationships with the local village and PTIS. A long term goal is to educate the village of Nong Pla Mon about dog sterilization and pet health care, the beneficial and sustainable effects that this will have on their community. The students will have a commitment to be personally responsible for maintaining the health and well-being of Wat Nong Pla Mon’s dogs.

WELL-BEING:

The-neuter-return project can save lives and reduce over-population of dogs in this small community. The Temple is unable to look after a continuing increase of its dog population whether it is for food, medical care, or simple basic love and attention. The sterilization program is effective on grounds of animal welfare, but if carried out on a larger enough scale in the entire community it will have environmental and social impact too. Parents can feel secure that their children will not be bothered by many dogs and will have a cleaner place to play.

The PTIS Environmental Institute, as part of the PTIS International School, seeks to provide opportunities for all students to learn about local and global environmental issues, take action toward meaningful solutions, enjoy working collaboratively and exercise their right to an education toward a sustainable future.

The school’s mission statement and philosophy is aligned with that of the PEI.

Student initiatives consider the balance that must be maintained in order for action to be sustainable: the Alan AtKisson compass model is often selected as the toolkit by which to frame, define, assess and measure progress of new initiatives and programmes.

An adaptation of the Alan AtKisson Compass Model is presented below.

Extracted originally from: The Asia-Pacific Programme of Educational Innovation for Development Annual Conference Bangkok, Thailand, 6-8 December 2006: An Introduction to the AtKisson Accelerator Suite of Multi-stakeholder Sustainable Development Learning, Training, Planning and Assessment Tools

Nature refers to the ecological systems and natural resources.
Economy is the process by which resources are put to work to produce the things and services that humans want and need.
Society is the collective and institutional dimension of human civilization, incorporating everything from governments to school systems to social norms regarding equity and opportunity.
Well-Being refers to satisfaction and happiness of individual people -- their health, their primary relationships, and the opportunities they have to develop their full potential.

 Photo galleries of Thai insects
 Chiang Mai butterfly species
 How to make a butterfly net
 How to make a collection net

 Endangered Trees Thailand
 PTIS Flora (with GPS)

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world" - Mahatma Gandhi.

The start of a new school year celebrates the reunification of the environment club at PTIS. For all the new students out there and the inquisitive parents who are wondering what the environment club is, read on. The environment club is a co-curricular programme that is composed of senior students, grades 6-10, that get together once a week and discuss what we can do to make a difference at PTIS. Steered by Ajarn Paul and Ajarn Forrest, we focus on projects that interest us, are responsible for, and have some sort of personal affinity with.

The range of projects that the Environment Club has taken on is extensive, incorporating environmental issues from every corner of the campus.

Tshering and Nasee have embarked on a research project with a vision toward creating a butterfly farm. Research into the different species in northern Thailand, and what the larval food requirements are will enable a planting program to begin.

The planting will concentrate on indigenous flowering plants and allow for flowering all year around so that a permanent butterfly population can be supported on campus. While this is going on, Li and Kiki are liaising with the head gardener to acquire some space for an environmental headquarters. This same space will also incorporate an environmentally friendly, indigenous plant nursery where seeds and young saplings could be germinated and gown respectively.

In the future, plants may be sold to raise funds for Environment Club initiatives.

As grade 11 students would know from their day out, the Prem Center Farm is under rapid development.

The farm is now working on a compost heap that would help with the development of healthy, organic fertilizer; but there is also another benefit from this compost heap. Sutthi has developed a plan to finally clean up "The PTIS Lake" using a totally environmentally friendly method.

Sutthi plans to pump the lake full of positive bacteria that would consume the algae and help oxygenate the eutrophic lake. To assist Sutthi’s efforts, Anond has recontacted staff at the Queen’s Sirikit Gardens and is going to attempts to populate the lake side with plants that would push this oxygenation process further.

Some people call them the fire engines of the forest, others just find their loud calling irritating.

Whether you know it or not, you have surely heard one of these insects, or more likely many of them calling at once, if you spent any time at PTIS in the last few weeks.

They make a high pitch noise, starting with one insect until all of their friends join in for a cacophony of sound.

How do they make that noise? And why?

• The sound is made by vibrating a pair of ribbed plates in amplifying cavities at the base of the abdomen.
• The males of each species makes their distinctive noise to attract a mate. Of all the bugs on the planet, cicadas are the loudest, with sound able to travel a mile.
• Of all the species of cicada, each makes its own noise. Females are able to distinguish between the sounds, even though they are very similar.
• Different species can be heard at different times of the day. While some prefer mating during the day, others prefer the evening hours.

Fun Facts

• Cicadas spend most of their lives as nymphs underground. This may be as long as 17 years. After morphing into adults, some cicadas live two to three weeks while others live only for a less than a day or two.
• The female cicada can lay four hundred to six hundred eggs.
• After the adults have mated both will die.

 Cicada Photos

"To-Kay! To-Kay!"

Have you heard this noise coming from your backyard? Chances are you’ve got one of these creatures hiding in the trees, or maybe even clinging to your house, waiting for night to fall and feeding time to begin.

Their favorite foods include cockroaches, crickets, and small vertebrates such as mice.

Where can you find a Tokay?

As a nocturnal lizard, your best chances of spotting one of these are at night when they are active. It is native to rainforest trees and cliffs; however, they have adapted to an urban lifestyle where they occupy ceilings, walls, and lamp posts.

Fun Facts

• Lifespan: 7-10 years in the wild, up to 18-20 years in captivity
• They do not have eye lids and they use their long tongue to clean their eyes
• Their tail is used to store fat, and it will break off the gecko is threatened.  The wiggling of the discarded tail distracts the enemy, allowing the gecko to escape.  A new tail grows back in several months, but it is always smaller than the original tail
• Males are very territorial, meaning they will fight other males to keep their home area guarded for food and rights to females

Have you ever seen a big black beetle tied to a piece of sugar cane?
If you haven't yet, keep your eyes peeled because beetle fighting season is on its way!

Many local Thai kids, generally of the boy variety, will find a big rhinoceros beetle and keep it as their "pet." Then, after school, they will ride around the village with their prize bug and have battle of the beetles to see who picked the strongest creature.

What are they?
Rhinoceros beetle is the common name that encompasses a wide array of species. In Northern Thailand, there are several species crawling through the forest, the rice paddies, or just cruising along the sidewalks here at PTIS. They come in different shapes and sizes and all have a tough outer shell to keep them safe from predators and other Rhino beetles.

Fun Facts

• Super-strength: these beetles can carry up to 850 times their own body weight! This makes them the strongest anilmal on land, proportional to their size. That's like a 60kg person carrying 51,000kg!
• Their common name refers to the giant horn that emerges from the beetles head. These horns are used to battle for territory and, for males, mating rights with female beetles. The size and number of horns variees greatly between species, ranging from 1 to 5 horns.
• They are an important part of the ecosystem as they help recycle decaying plant material back into the soil by eating away at fallen leaves and rotting trees.