Primary and secondary schools want every child/young person to have knowledge and awareness of local, national and global environmental issues. Positive action all schools can take is to teach learners about how they can all have an impact in supporting their school and community to become Zero Carbon.
Becoming a Greener School
There are loads of great school initiatives being run by environmental organisations that are helping children to be empowered in environment topics, enabling them to take climate action across their school and local community.
Let’s Go Zero https://letsgozero.org/ supports this where Schools follow eight Action that will help them become Zero Carbon by 2030. This links well with Eco-Schools. https://www.eco-schools.org.uk/ It is a global programme engaging 19.5 million children across 67 countries, making it the largest educational programme on the planet. There are now over 20,000 schools in England signed up to Eco Schools.
A good place to start is putting together an environmental action group of eco warriors with every class having a child representative who can work with their class on school eco projects but also share ideas with other action group members of what environmental issues the school should be focusing on. It is important to do an audit of your school celebrating the good sustainability work you do already but then using the information to draw up an action plan of what eco topics your school needs to work on.
Most schools use environmental focus days or weeks throughout the school year to base their sustainable curriculum learning around.
Here are some ideas and quick gains you could use within your primary school.
Start using refillable glue sticks. Learn Play Nexus have the world’s first reusable glue stick called U-fill. Schools keep the glue container, refilling with a new glue stick. The empty containers can be reused or are sent back to the company to be reused in production.
Waste-free lunches adopting a policy for a waste free lunch with refillable bottles for all children and staff. Also include guidance on how to pack a waste-free lunch in the form of a short film clip or tips in the school newsletter.
Collect printing cartridges and toners from parents, local businesses and the wider community. These can then be sent off, refilled and then sold or recycled. This raises good funds for the school. They can even collect points for outdoor nature equipment too at Empties Please and The Ink Bin
Signup to Common Seas and Kids Against Plastic ‘Plastic Clever Schools’ working through the three levels Inspire, Investigate and Act making your school single use plastic free https://plasticcleverschools.co.uk/ . Amy and Ella Meek’s book ‘Be Plastic Clever’ has great ideas to support and inspire children to have a voice to campaign on single use plastic issues in school and in your community.
Recycle school uniform with a second-hand uniform shop. A great website company where PTA, Parents can buy, sell, give away & recycle outgrown school uniform is Uniformerly.
Bio Edd Moore
Edd has been at the forefront of environment and sustainability education for the last twelve years.
I have built up a Primary School’s Eco work from a blank canvas to one of the top Eco Schools in the country, embedding the environment into the school’s curriculum. Edd has led this school to win multiple national environment awards that include Eco Schools Primary Eco School of the Year, Surfers Against Sewage Schools Champion, Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots Education Institution of the Year. I was 1 of 500 people to be named as a Coronation Champion for my Environmental work. Most recently I was announced as a Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) winner of Teacher of the Year Award.
I am also a National Council member of NAPE (National Associate for Primary Education) as their Schools’ Environmental Officer.
Edd will be working at Green School Bali from August 2024 to help to continue to develop their environmental work – a school considered by many to be one of the leading eco schools in the world.
