With the successful closing of the Expo 2010 Shanghai, public interest on what has happened to the pavilions has continued. Recently, YK Pao School has teamed up with green NGOs and Expo pavilions to launch the YK Pao Green School Showcase – EXPO Materials Re-use Project. Materials donated from a number of Expo pavilions will be re-used in YK Pao School’s new Secondary School boarding campus.
 

The Green School Showcase – EXPO Materials Re-use Project, an initiative by the YK Pao School, aims to recycle and re-use construction materials and furniture donated by pavilions in its new campus in order to promote education on sustainability. The idea for the project originated from John Timms, a student from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), and quickly garnered support from several NGO’s and organizations such as Joint US-China Collaboration on Clean Energy (JUCCCE), Green Ideas Green Actions (GIGA), S.H.E Advisory (SHE), and Parsons Brinckerhoff.
 

Expo Pavilions that have agreed to donate materials include national, city and corporate pavilions: Cyprus, London ZED, Cisco, New Zealand, Swiss Cities, India Pondicherry, UK, Portugal and Alsace Pavilions. The Pavilions are generously donating a diverse range of materials that will be re-used across all areas of the campus’ construction. Everything from curtains, carpet tiles, neon lights to stainless steel railings, plate glass and sinks will begin a new chapter at YK Pao School.
 

“This is a wonderful way for our students to practice what they are learning about REUSE in our environmental curriculum; it is a very realistic application to everyday life. The success of Expo 2010 Shanghai is becoming more and more apparent, as the seeds of the Green Expo values have been planted in our hearts and grow a little bit every day,” says Mr. Philip Sohmen, Co-Founder and Deputy Chairman of Governors of YK Pao School.
 

The Cyprus Pavilion was the first to sign a Memorandum of Understanding and has since enjoyed contributing to this project. “Knowing that part of the ‘House of Aphrodite’ will be reused to build a school where young minds will be encouraged to build a creative and sustainable future, rather than simply discarded is extremely satisfying,” said the pavilion director Daphne Hutagalung.
 

Founded in 2007 in Shanghai, YK Pao School is a not-for-profit school, offering a unique curriculum balancing Chinese foundations with an international approach and perspective and seeking to educate the whole person. Currently, over 400 students from across China and eighteen other countries are enrolled in the Primary School, with plans for the Secondary School to open in fall 2011 offering a full boarding program preparing students for leading universities around the world. In addition to providing a bilingual and bicultural education that balances academic and non-academic learning, the school also emphasizes environmental education and social responsibility.
 

Peggy Liu, Chairperson of the non-profit organization Joint US-China Collaboration on Clean Energy (JUCCCE) and a TIME Magazine Hero of the Environment says, “REUSE is often ignored in favor of its siblings, REDUCE and RECYCLE. This is a historic opportunity, with the dismantling of the EXPO Pavilions and the building of the YK Pao secondary school, for us to showcase a practical and mutually beneficial way to reuse our Earth’s precious resources. JUCCCE is proud to work with YK Pao as our Green School Showcase in creating best practices that can be emulated across China.”
 

According to the organizers’ update, over 300 items of 50 different types have been donated by participant pavilions.  All of these materials will be removed, packed up, transported and then re-used in the construction and fit-out of the new campus.  The sustainability spirit of Shanghai Expo 2010 will be seeded everywhere across the schools’ 40,000 square meters of space from classrooms to dormitories, library, offices and outdoor garden areas. Certain areas will specifically showcase Expo materials, leaving a lasting legacy of Expo 2010 and a physical demonstration of reuse in practice for students.
 

For more information about the YK Pao Green School Showcase project, please contact Cindy Ma, Expo Materials Re-use Project Manager.