Can classes put any of their ideas into practice within the school? Putting theory into practice is essential as part of children’s environmental education. We are proud of our eco-schools green flag status, the highest award you can get, and to achieve this we have to prove that we consider our energy consumption, recycle extensively and monitor our water usage.

What environmentally friendly practices does the school use on a daily basis? The school has a system called eco-driver which shows our energy consumption in all the different buildings (on a screen in the playground), and our eco-committee periodically set challenges to reduce energy consumption. We also make sure that we concentrate on recycling, including paying extra to ensure that all of our food waste is put to good use and does not go into landfill. We also consider procurement, where our food is sourced from and where our paper is sourced from, to ensure that we are being as environmentally responsible as we possibly can be. We have our annual Golden Boot competition to encourage ‘greener’ ways for pupils and staff to travel to and from school.

Do pupils learn how different communities around the world care for their environment? As part of the children’s studies they look at countries from sub-Saharan Africa and the challenges of climate change they face through to the environmental impacts of the rapidly developing cities of China through to coastal towns where rising seas and declining fisheries are real concerns. Learning that we have to live within limits is an important aspect of environmental education, as you cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet. Understanding our part in dealing with climate change is absolutely vital too and this understanding has to be embedded in the psyche of our future leaders and policymakers

reigatestmarys.org

Hazelwood School, Oxted

How do you teach pupils to be more aware of the impact they have on the environment? The school’s Eco Committee is the driving force behind pupils’ environmental awareness. This year, each year group was given a different environmental concern. They have researched it and prepared a poster on how to address it. These were displayed in school and featured in the weekly newsletter. Environmental issues are also addressed through class and subject based curriculum projects.

Can classes put any of their ideas into practice within the classroom/school grounds? Absolutely! Last year, Y3 undertook a project on reducing our plastic consumption. They signed a petition asking for reduced use of plastic
within our dining and hospitality. The school’s Catering Manifesto now calls for us to work with producers who are making an effort to reduce the amount of plastics in their supply chain. Y8 pupils put pen to paper and boycotted their favourite dessert when they were offered ice-cream made from palm oil. Such ice-cream will never be served again!

What environmentally friendly practices does the school use on a daily basis? We encourage recycling but importantly look to reduce the amount of printed material we generate through Papercut. Since its installation, we have reduced our monthly print by 15 per cent and our CO2 emission by 20 per cent, saving (on average) one tree each month! Lights in our main teaching building switch themselves off after five minutes of inactivity to benefit the environment.

Do pupils learn how different communities around the world care for their environment? One of the statements in our School Promise is to enhance pupils’ understanding of local and global communities. Most recently through our partnership with the four community schools of the Songwe District in Tanzania, we have been able to gain first-hand insight from teacher visits on the issues facing families in Africa. Through the half-termly curriculum projects, children study communities as diverse as India and Antarctica. We recently linked up via satellite with Geraint Tarling, an
eco-scientist in Antarctica, to hear about his work to protect the polar environment.

hazelwoodschool.co.uk

Claremont School, Bodiam
& St. Leonards on Sea

How do you teach pupils to be more aware of the impact they have on the environment? Our Eco Committee is made up of pupils of all ages.  It meets regularly to discuss environmental issues as well as present their findings, fundraising ideas and eco initiatives to their friends in whole school assemblies. This keeps environmental issues high on the agenda for both pupils and teachers alike and influences lesson content across many subjects.  More recently, in Geography children have been learning about Fairtrade, in Science lessons, the impact of plastic pollution and the importance of water conservation… in French!

Can classes put any of their ideas into practice within the school? At Claremont, we are blessed with 125 acres of beautiful grounds, incorporating a variety of both managed and wild habitats including woodland, grassland and freshwater habitats. We make full use of our outside resources to teach environmental education which recently has included an investigation into what happens to different types of litter and how long it takes to degrade. To do our bit to address
the decline in insect populations, we will soon be planting
a wildflower meadow and lavender border to attract a greater variety of pollinating insects. This will inspire further cross curricular work in Maths and Science lessons.

What environmentally friendly practices does the school use on a daily basis? We have a very ‘hands on’ approach to recycling at Claremont, with children carrying out weekly collections of the recycling bins. They have recently taken part in ‘switch off week’, encouraging teachers and parents at home to reduce energy use by switching off lights and appliances when not needed. We also took part in litter picks for the Big Spring Clean, encouraging their friends to be cleaner and tidier, particularly in the dining hall at lunchtime.

Do pupils learn how different communities around the world care for their environment? Through studying Fairtrade in Geography, pupils have been learning about the importance of trade justice and how they can support their global neighbours by purchasing products where producers receive a fair price for their hard work. Children learn that Fairtrade producers endeavour to use sustainable farming methods that do not compromise future environments.

Our efforts to protect our environment and raise awareness of eco issues have recently earned us a Bronze Eco Schools Award. We are now working towards Silver.

claremontschool.co.uk

Hilden Oaks, Tonbridge

How do you teach Pupils to be more aware of the impact they have on the environment? Celebrating our centenary this year has led the Hilden Oaks community to ask the question ‘How sustainable is our school?’ This has prompted us to adopt the ‘One Planet’ initiative, to help the children become aware of their impact on the environment with three main goals in mind: Zero Waste, Use of Products and Materials and developing Sustainable Water.

Can classes put their ideas into practice within the school? Within the classroom the children are encouraged to use resources wisely and to recycle paper and other materials wherever possible.  Our gardening club grow fresh produce using our home-made compost and this term will be planting a ‘nectar bar’ to support bio-diversity for bees.

What environmentally friendly practises does the school use on a daily basis? Our delicious lunches are made from locally sourced fresh produce as well as ensuring other ingredients do not contain palm oil. We have had great success reducing waste from snack packaging and many classes are now ‘waste-free’.  Children bring in reusable water bottles and we provide refill water stations which are also available for our whole school community. Water Rangers check that all taps are switched off after use. In addition, the Eco Club have made notebooks reusing single sided paper. The Young Enterprise initiative not only raises money for good causes but also uses recycled/upcycled materials and we will soon be collecting plastic bottle tops and used ink cartridges for recycling.

Do pupils learn how different communities around the world care for their environment? Within Geography lessons the children learn about the physical and urban water cycle, drought and the management of water, rivers and pollution around the world. Hilden Oaks have raised money for Water Aid in the past and last Christmas donated reusable water bottles (filled with stationery and first aid supplies) for Gambia to enable children there to have clean water throughout their day.

hildenoaks.co.uk