The green and healthy Monday is an initiative started by the Secondary School’s Green Machine, a group of students with one overall aim: to promote a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle, by encouraging the CIS community to make small changes to our food choices and eating habits to reduce our negative impact on the environment and promote a more sustainable future.

From a sustainability perspective, eating plant-based sources of protein compared to meat means we could collectively lower our carbon, land and water footprints. Animals (raised for the meat industry in this instance) have a negative impact on the land on which they graze and result in carbon emissions, and consume much greater quantities of the water in comparison to plant-based sources of protein.

From a health perspective, students want to help the CIS community understand that they can reduce their risk of a range of lifestyle diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity, by eating more plant based foods.

The green and healthy Monday initiative began by asking students to sign a formal pledge that indicates their participation in reducing their meat consumption, specifically on Mondays.

To inspire more students to engage with the Green Machine’s meatless Monday initiative, students who take part in it are occasionally given a “reward” in the form of vegan baked goods, handmade by the green & healthy Monday committee.

The number of signed pledges by the CIS community has grown to over 215 pledges, making this initiative very successful so far. Furthermore, the green & healthy Monday committee has successfully negotiated to introduce a new line of “green and healthy” dishes, such as burritos, falafel, lasagna and pasta dishes, created by Sodexo for the school canteen. There will be more great opportunities for green & healthy Monday to expand in the hope of spreading awareness and influencing the mindsets of more in the CIS community. We would like to invite our parent community to join the pledge. We want everyone to realise that each of us can make small changes that will lead a more environmentally friendly and healthy lifestyle.