Wow! What a year for our Eco-Committee and what superstars they've all been!
Back in September last year, our new Eco-Committee were formed and we got to work quickly, choosing Biodiversity, Marine and Transport as our Eco-Schools topics.
One of our first actions was to share our Anti-Idling Policy with parents and carers. This was further reinforced by Iris and Victoria's fabulous poster that was displayed at Parent's Evening.
We also got to work planting 10 trees which now form 2 small copses in each of the back corners of the field. Our hope is that they will help to keep our school air clean and also attract birds and other wildlife to our school grounds.
In March, we held a Biodiversity Day where the children were invited to come into school dressed in animal themed clothes for a donation to the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). We raised £178.91 for the charity. Staff from our local BBOWT team at The Nature Discovery Centre came into school and taught workshops for each year group. The children also enjoyed lots of nature inspired activities in class. Following on from the Biodiversity Day, Felicity and Isla put together a poster of the Eco-Committee's "Top 10 Actions To Help Wildlife At Home" which was shared with pupils, teachers, parents and carers.
In April, we took part in a Walk To School Week, where staff and pupils were encouraged to leave the car at home and walk, cycle or scoot to school. The children were also given homework on this theme and produced some amazing work.
Throughout the whole academic year, we have also been working hard on the Plastic Free Schools Programme, which we have incorporated into our Eco-Schools actions for the Marine topic. We progressed through 5 Objectives, including taking part in a litter pick, challenging Government and Industry and, finally, requesting that the following 3 single-use plastic items are not brought into school: cling film, plastic bags and water bottles.
As well as our topic actions, we also made an impressive donation to the West Berks Food Bank, as part of Harvest Festival. Before that, we took part in West Berks Council's "Name A Food Waste Truck" - 2 of our children even won, getting their chosen names printed on two of the food waste vehicles. Just recently, we also took part in Outdoor Classroom Day, which we now participate in every year.
We have also continued actions for previous years:
Recycling - pens, crisp packets, food waste and printer cartridges.
Regular lunchtime litter picks.
Energy monitors to turn off the lights and smartboards when nobody is using them.
Our Eco-Code this year was written by our Eco-Committee in a recent meeting. This is a whole school promise to protect the planet that reflects the topic work we have been focusing on this year: Biodiversity, Marine and Transport.
The first letter of each sentence cleverly spells out "ECO" when put together!
We are so proud of the changes we have made in the last 4 years since we started the Eco-Schools programme. Thank you to everyone who has lent their support.
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