Celebrating the feast of St Francis has a more powerful meaning for all the school community at St Francis School, Sliema. Since St Francis is the patron saint of animals and ecology, the school used the opportunity to organise various activities aimed at continuing to raise awareness about key environmental issues among its students and to empower us to be advocates of the environment. In fact, our school has been rewarded for several years with the Green Flag to celebrate its students’ ecological achievements.

During an assembly, some students delivered a PowerPoint presentation about the importance of our environment, with the main message being: “We are part of the solution, not part of the problem.”

The presentation shared Pope Francis’s strong belief that “Environmental education… needs educators… for ecology”. He said we must also follow in the footsteps of Saint Francis who lived his life emphasising the importance of the environment. Pope Francis also believes that “everyone’s talents and involvement are needed to redress the damage”.

Prof. Paul Pace delivering his PowerPoint presentation about environmental sustainability.

Afterwards, Prof. Paul Pace from the University of Malta’s Faculty of Education spoke to the students about environmental sustainability. Prof. Pace referred to Laudato Si’, an encyclical written by Pope Francis in which he expressed his thoughts about caring for our planet. To do so, we must keep St Francis in mind since he was the “example par excellence” of an environmental activist. His life was living proof of an ecology that integrated love of nature with justice for the poor, engagement in society and inner peace. Prof. Pace emphasised that most of our problems happen because we humans do not care about one another.

St Francis came from an aristocratic family. When he was young, he lived a rich, carefree life. Yet, his heart always held a place for the poor and the environment, qualities that would later characterise Francis’s life. His life changed radically when he heard God telling him: “Go rebuild my house.” In fact, he renounced all his riches and popularity and was socially excluded but he found peace and tranquility in God and nature. With his poor lifestyle, St Francis eventually also brought about a radical change in the Church’s mentality.

St Francis was the ‘example par excellence’ of an environmental activist

Prof. Pace said that St Francis’s legacy has been passed from one generation to another right up to the present day. He gave examples of leading environmental activists including Kenyan political activist Wangari Maathai (1940-2011), who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to battle deforestation in Kenya. She had led a group of women to plant trees, fight soil erosion and water pollution.

Canadian activist Severn Cullis-Suzuki (1979- ) started the Environmental Children’s Organisation, arguing that it is our responsibility to act for our environment from a young age. And more recently, Sweden’s Greta Thunberg (2003- ) managed to mobilise young people around the world deeply concerned about the environmental situation of the earth.

Participants in the debate as to whether our ancestors have left a sustainable environment for future generations.

Another interesting activity organised by our school was a debate between two teams of Form 5 students, with students from forms 3, 4 and 5 as the audience. The two teams took opposing sides of an interesting debate on sustainability. The theme was whether our ancestors have left a sustainable environment for future generations. The students took the debate very seriously and raised several issues, such as the increase of building in the Maltese islands, the cutting down of trees and the issue of global warming.

Meanwhile, students in form 1 and 2 played a game related to sustainability, took part in a quiz related to the environment and made beautiful crafts, including the decoration of reusable canvas bags.

The activities the school organised for the feast of St Francis added to its meaning and ensured that we students remembered the celebration. Through the activities, students could relate to St Francis because although hundreds of years have passed since his death, his message is still very relevant to us.

Alessia Galea Pulo is a student in Form 5C at St Francis School, Sliema. This article is an adaptation of a report she wrote about activities organised last October by the Ekoskola team to celebrate the school’s patron saint.