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S.A.P. Project

2011-02-08T21:46:00.010-07:00

After nearly 4 months of planning, our first group of Student Action Program (S.A.P.) students from Technical Thalang College implemented their environmental project at Muang Mai School in Phuket. They held a full day environmental workshop for students age 10-12 to educate them on what they can do to help protect the environment. The 20 S.A.P. students in this group organized 5 different stations along with games, songs, dances, and other activites to engage the younger students in learning about impacts human's have on the environment, global warming, reducing waste, recycling, plastics, buying sustainable products, making lifestyle changes, and much more.

Our second group of S.A.P. students will be holding their Mangrove Planting and Educational Event this Friday inviting over 40 students from Tah Chatchai school to participate in planting over 300 mangrove trees and learn about the importance of mangrove ecosystems.

International Coastal Cleanup at Nai Yang Beach

2010-10-01T09:16:00.009-06:00

On September 25th we organized a beach cleanup in partnership with Indigo Pearl Resort for the Ocean Conservancy's 25th Annual International Coastal Cleanup (http://www.oceanconservancy.org/). Close to 300 people joined us for this event, including staff from Indigo Pearl, Adamas Resort and Spa, DEWA, Nai Yang Beach Resort, Home & Life Orphanage, local residents, the local government, the Professor of Aquaculture and Aquatic Resource Management from the Asian Institute of Technology, and our students from Wat Mongkol School.

For this worldwide event, our cleanup participants filled out data cards to record the number and type of trash collected to be sent to the Ocean Conservancy to compile a worldwide report of marine debris. Over 105 trash bags weighing a total of 1250 kg were filled. The day was also marked by a small display created by our students at Wat Mongkol showing artwork made from marine trash showing how 'nurdles' (preproduction plastic pellets) end up in our oceans and beaches and the negative effects these small plastic pellots have on marine life.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in this cleanup and we look forward to next years event.

S.A.P. Questionnaires

2010-08-13T01:22:00.004-06:00

With the help of Indigo Pearl's Public Relations Manager, Panchan Noimeecharoen and assistant, Jittranuch Ketsrirak, our students from Technical Thalang College have now started to design their questionnaires for interviewing their local community. Our S.A.P. students are learning what the importance of conducting a questionnaire is and how it can help them in developing an environmental project that is beneficial to their community's needs. Panchan also taught our students the different tools and methods they can use to send out media and presented examples of media displays and public notices students can create for their project.

Mangrove Planting

2010-08-13T01:09:00.004-06:00

The local government in Thalang, Phuket organized a mangrove restoration project with our students from Wat Mongkol School on August 3rd. Our partner, Indigo Pearl Resort joined in the planting and provided 150 snack boxes for the students and government employees. This was a good activity for the students as we have been teaching them about the different species found in mangrove ecosystems and the important roles each species plays.

Technical Thalang Students

2010-08-13T00:58:00.003-06:00

Our Technical Thalang students in the field of Hotel and Tourism learning how life, work, business, and travel is all connected to the environment.

Student Action Program (S.A.P.)

2010-08-13T00:02:00.007-06:00

Our first year students at Technical Thalang College have finished our two month environmental education course which in addition to impoving their knowledge about a wide variety of environmental topics, has also improved their teamwork, presentation, and communication skills. We feel these students are now ready to take on their own Student Action Program to promote environmental awareness and change by bringing their community together to help them solve an environmental issue.

At the end of July our students divided up into two teams and selected 2 team leaders, Miss. Nutjaree Songrob and Miss. Chadaporn Ariya-Udomkit, from their class to lead them in researching, designing, and implementing their Student Action Programs in their local community.

Each group of students will receive $500 US funded by Seedlings of Change "Bread for the Soul" mini grant program and Indigo Pearl to implement their project.

Environmental Workshop for Indigo Pearl's Staff

2010-06-27T03:04:00.004-06:00

Our first environmental workshop for Indigo Pearl's staff was held on June 25th. The staff participated in group exercises, presentations, and discussions about environmental issues and solutions on how they can improve the environment in their community and at their hotel. We look forward to continuing these workshops weekly for the other employees at Indigo Pearl to build environmental awareness and a stong team of dedicated staff to help us in our efforts to bring environmentally sustainable change to the local community

Plastic Analysis

2010-06-27T02:44:00.004-06:00

Students from Wat Mongkol School analyzing the plastic debris they collected from Nai Yang Beach. Next they will have to summarize their data to determine how the plastic debris they collected in their sample plot can affect marine animals.

Back in the Classroom

2010-06-11T00:40:00.006-06:00

This week we started our new environmental education program in Nai Yang, Phuket, Thailand. We are working in partnership with Indigo Pearl www.indigo-pearl.com/ to provide environmental education to Technical Thalang College and Wat Mongkol School. We are teaching around 100 students at Technical Thalang College studying in the field of Hotel Management and we are teaching around 50 students age 11-13 at Wat Mongkol School. This week we taught our students about Thailand's environmental history and the effects marine litter has on the environment. Students had to work in groups to come up with 5 different ways to prevent the amount of trash left on Nai Yang Beach. Then they had to present their groups solutions to the class.

Our Partner, Seedlings of Change

2010-05-03T20:49:00.004-06:00

We would like to thank Seedlings of Change for selecting us to be their next "Bread for the Soul" mini grant recepient. They will be awarding us with a small grant that will go towards funding our Student Action Program (S.A.P.). Seedlings of Change, http://www.seedlingsofchange.org/ is a nonprofit organization, based out of Montana, that works to connect communities and individuals around the world by promoting sustainability, education, self-empowerment, and global consciousnous.

We are also happy be apart of their online community and look forward to working together in the future. To join this great online community that works to connect people around the world to share ideas and inspirations go to: http://seedlingsofchange.ning.com/

Marine Debris Poster

2010-01-24T17:36:00.004-07:00

Students from Wat Muang School helped us design a postor for our beach clean-up event out of marine debris we collected from Thai Muang Beach. The students turned marine trash into animals, telephones, boats, people, and other creative objects. Then we took our students from Lumpee School and Bpa Tae School outside the classroom to identify plants by using their sense of smell and touch like many nocturnal animals have to do to identify sources of food.

THAI MUANG ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM

2010-01-08T07:32:00.007-07:00

The topics we taught this week at 4 different schools in Thai Muang District were:

The effects littering (pollution) has on the environment and humans.
The length of time it takes for litter to decompose
Where does a bag of chips you buy in the store from come and where does it end up?
Ways to prevent people from throwing their trash on Thai Muang Beach (students had to work in groups to come up with 5 answers and present them to the class)

Holiday Giving Event

2009-12-26T05:29:00.019-07:00

Happy Holidays!!!

We would like to thank our guests from Thailand, Burma, Australia, Germany, Holland, Netherlands, and England for helping support our cause and children from Home & Life. We would also like the thank the directors and staff from 3 local organizations (Fun 4 Kids, Tsunami Volunteer Center, and Peace Building and Integration in the Andaman) for joining us.

Khoa Lak, Thailand
December 22nd, 2009

Christmas Cards for the guests handmade by children from Home & Life

Special thanks to Everday Lazy House Restuarant and Bar for giving us a great deal on the cost of food and helping us making this event possible!

Update on our Thai Muang Beach Project

2009-11-11T07:15:00.006-07:00

Our President just recently visited with the local government, Khoa Lampi National Park Service, and Phang-nga Coastal Fisheries Research and Development Center in Thai Muang District, who are all stakeholders of Thai Muang Beach, and they are all very anxious for our beach clean-up to start. They will be joining our clean-up day and will be providing guest speakers to give a speech to the students and local community members who participate in the clean-up. The local government will also be broadcasting our event over the local radio and we will be planning for it least 200 participants.

We are looking at raising around $3,000 to fund this project and so we are now looking for donors who can help us purchase garbage bins, recycle bins, no littering signs, and informational signs about the ecology and biodiversity along Thai Muang beach. Tentatively we are planning to hold the clean-up day on Saturday, Jan 23rd, 2010.

Registered 501(c)3 Nonprofit

2009-11-11T06:52:00.001-07:00

Great news! We are now an IRS approved and registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization meaning any donations made will be tax deductable to the fullest extent of the law.

We are also registered on MissionFish and Ebay Giving Works. This is one way to donate to our organization. Rather than donating money you can sell something (like a garage sale item) on MissionFish or Ebay Giving Works and the money can be donated directly to our paypal account with minimal fees. Sellers on Ebay can also elect to give a portion of their profit to Sustainable Smiles.

Questionnaire Results

2009-07-24T19:08:00.007-06:00

This week we started handing out questionnaires to local businesses, home owners, and people recreating along Thai Muaeng beach to find out if locals will support or beach clean-up proposal. Our questionnaire results showed that 40 out of 41 people would like to see Thai Muaeng beach free of trash. 39 out of 41 people think if there were trash cans and signs along the beach less people would leave their trash on the beach. 20 business owners think a clean and healthy beach would bring more customers to thier business along the beach. 38 out of 39 people said they would support or participate in a clean-up day. 38 people said they would like to see trash, recycle bins, and signs along the beach. Our results also showed that only half the people who filled out the questionnaires think that marine debris kill or injure thousands of marine animals every year and that marine debris is a major pollution problem. 16 out of 41 people think that toxins from trash enter our food chain and 33 out of 41 people think that trash takes away from the natural beauty of Thai Muaeng beach. 29 out of 41 people think that the reason why so many people leave their trash along the beach is because they don't know the negative impacts it can have on the environment.

The gentleman below who owns a house on Thai Muaeng beach says that he has to pick up trash that is blown by the wind onto his property everyday. He says at the end of every week the place where he stores the trash behind his front walkway is full. He then has to take it to the dump every week. At the age of 73 he says this job isn't so easy for him anymore.

Teaching Thai and Burmese Students

2009-05-21T17:40:00.038-06:00

In April, Sustainable Smiles put on a program to teach 30 high school students about recycling and environmental issues Thailand is facing. The students were at a three week camp put on by Peace Building and Integration in Andaman, which brought students of different ethnic and religious backgrounds together to learn various things about themselves, nature, arts, meditation, equality, and the power of teamwork.

Our first activity introduced students to environmental problems Thailand is facing. Students were surprised to learn that only 15-17% of Thailand remains as natural forest. The other 83-85% has been cut down for agriculture, plantations, resource extraction, and rural and urban develpment. Students worked in groups of 4-5 to create environmental posters which represented environmental devestations and sustainable practices which they presented to the class at the end of the activity.

We also taught the students about the effects littering has on the environment, and the importance of reducing wastes and recycling. In the end, the students participated in a recycling race and decided that they didn't want to have lunch until every recyclable material was in the right bin. We all had a lot of fun!!

Sa Wa Dee Ka Friends, Family, and Visitors,

2009-01-11T12:30:00.011-07:00

I am working on starting a non-profit organization, "Sustainable Smiles", which will operate in the land of smiles, Thailand. Sustainable Smiles will promote environmental, social, and economic sustainability in local communities in Thailand. Our goal is to protect natural ecosystems and bring awareness to the public about environmentally-friendly practices. Our focus will be educating children and working with communities and volunteers to clean-up trashed areas, as well as support organizations and small communities that aspire towards sustainability.

Projects that we are currently trying to develope are:

1. Educate children at local schools and workshops about the environment and sustainable practices.
2. Organize community clean-up projects, the first being Thai Muaeng Beach, and provide awareness about the importance of keeping natural ecosystems free of trash.
3. Help support Home & Life, a home for children who need a safe and caring environment, in its move towards self-sustainability.

Right now we are looking for new ideas and volunteers.
Here is a list of things we could use your help developing or researching:

1. An environmentally friendly and cost efficient water pump/system that Home & Life can use to transport water from a creek 40 meters uphill to use for organic gardening.
2. Organic, healthy, and easy baking recipe's the children at Home & Life can make to sell at their cafe.
3. Environmentally friendly craft ideas to teach children that use recyled items.
4. Small craft items the children at Home & Life could make and sell.
5. Environmental lesson plans and activities to teach children about the environment and sustainable practices.
6. Ways to educate small communities about the importance of taking care of the environment and preventing areas from being trashed.
7. Environmental posters, teaching materials, or other visual aids.

Thai Mueang Beach Clean-up Project

2009-01-11T10:54:00.021-07:00

Thai Muaeng Beach is a place where many locals live and come to visit. Locals and the occasional foreigners come to picnic, visit the Turtle Sanctuary, eat food at the local restaurants, go jogging underneath the shady canopy, and enjoy the many festivals that are held here each year. It is a beautiful long stretch of beach continuing for over 10km where you can always find a place to relax away from the busy streets. It is also home to endangered sea turtles that lay their eggs on the soft sandy beach.

The Problem: There is trash everywhere!
People do not dispose of their trash properly. They often come to picnic and just leave their bags of food and drink on the beach. People do not seem to understand the effect this can have on the environment. Thai Muaeng beach has special habitat for turtles and other aquatic life and many animals die each year from human carelessness.

Initiative:
1. Clean-up the Beach
2. Provide trash cans for recycling and waste disposal
3. Teach children about the environment and importance of not littering.
4. Organize environmental programs and activities in local Thai communities.

Thai Muaeng Beach connects to Had Thai Muaeng Marine National Park which is free of trash once you cross the gate. It’s unfortunate that you have to pay to see a clean beach. Sustainable Smiles hopes the results of this project will be a clean, safe beach for all to enjoy, free of charge.

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Cultural Learning

Thailand has a creative history of using natural materials for construction of a variety of tools and crafts. Unfortunately, many of these practices are not being passed on to younger generations. Sustainable Smiles would like to develop a program where children and volunteers can come and learn from elders about how to make natural products to ensure that Thai culture and environmental practices are preserved.

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Special Thanks Donators

Thanks to everyone who donated items for the children! The children are very creative and have made some beautiful craft projects with the items donated.

At Home & Life we like the idea of recycling so if you have items you or your children don't need anymore please consider donating them to the children at Home & Life and we will arrange to get them to Thailand.

Suggested items to donate would be:

Arts and Crafts: paints, brushes, pens, pencils, color pencils, crayons, art paper, stationary, unfinished coloring books, beads, string, ext.
Sewing Materials: extra lengths of fabrics, ribbon, thread, needles, ext.
Clothing: we would like to bring back nice used clothing for the children that they can wear when they go on field trips and when selling their craft items at the Saturday market.
School Backpacks
Umbrella's: collapsable is better
English learning books or games: beginner level with lots of pictures

Contact us by email or by phone.
kfranklin@sustainablesmiles.org cell phone 1-406-370-0226 USA/(66) 084-8411234 Thailand