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Flying the Flag for Sustainability

Did you know that in one year:

Schools in England produce 250,000 tonnes of waste – enough to fill Wembley Stadium
Secondary school students use on average 875 buckets of water in school alone
Heating, lighting and power equipment in an ordinary school classroom releases enough CO2 to fill four hot-air balloons
Potato Council would also like to make you aware of an exciting sustainable schools programme called Eco-Schools. It is all about bringing together young people from across the world who care about the environment, and empowering them to make lasting changes to their school’s impact on the environment.

What is it all about?

Eco-Schools, run in England by Keep Britain Tidy, is a whole-school award programme designed to help guide schools on their sustainable journey via a simple seven step process.

The programme promotes creative thinking about global issues, encouraging young people to drive changes within their school that will benefit the environment.

Pupil leadership is at the heart of the programme, with youngsters forming an Eco-Committee to review their school, create an action plan and carry out environmental projects on a variety of themes including water, biodiversity, energy, global perspectives, healthy living, litter, school grounds, transport and waste.

Eco-Schools work can count towards gaining one of three awards: Bronze, Silver and the prestigious Green Flag Award, which symbolises excellence in the field of environmental activity.

Who can take part?

All types of school can take part in the programme, from nurseries and primary schools to secondary schools, colleges, special schools and pupil referral units. Currently over 50% of schools in England have pledged to help young people acquire an awareness of environmental issues, with around 250 joining every month.

Helping with Government targets

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) wants every school to be a sustainable school by 2020 and believes schools play a vital part in developing the skills children need to lead sustainable lives.

The good news is that a recent article produced by the DCSF, How National Recognition Schemes Can Support Your Schools Progress, confirms that Eco-Schools meet all the "8 Doorways" to sustainability outlined by their national framework.

Eco-Schools also helps schools deliver on the objectives laid out by Every Child Matters. The Government has said that local authorities will need to involve children and young people in the process of meeting these goals and, when inspectors assess how local areas are doing, they will listen especially to the views of children and young people. As Eco-Schools actively encourages pupils to lead, it is a very good vehicle for enabling teachers and local authorities to reach their targets.

Eco-Schools accreditation

In addition to helping schools meet Government targets, the project enables students aged 11-19 to gain an academic qualification. The ASDAN Environmental Award, developed by Keep Britain Tidy in partnership with ASDAN, accredits up to 60 hours of involvement in environmental activities.

Credits from the award can also count towards the ASDAN Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE), which has GCSE equivalents.

More information on the ASDAN Environmental Award can be found on the Eco-Schools website

Getting together

With young people as the guiding force behind Eco-Schools, Keep Britain Tidy recognises the importance of providing them with the best possible information on which to act. England’s first ever Eco-Schools National Show last June provided pupils and teachers with the opportunity to further increase their knowledge through a series of activities.

In total there were more than 1,800 people present at the event, which took place at the Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool. As well as young people and their teachers, the event was attended by Eco-Schools supporters and partners – with some travelling from as far afield as South Africa and Tanzania.

Popular features at the free-to-attend event included workshops and Ask the Experts sessions, which gave pupils the chance to get advice on a range of issues.

Following the success of last year’s show there are plans to hold the show every year, with the 2009 event scheduled to take place on Wednesday 24th June at Stoneleigh Conference and Exhibition Centre near Coventry.

If you would like to take the lead in making your school a greener and more sustainable place, and enjoy organising environmental projects, then visit http://www.eco-schools.org.uk to find out more.

Note:
Eco-Schools in Scotland is run by Keep Scotland Beautiful: http://www.ecoschoolsscotland.org

Eco-Schools in Wales is run by Keep Wales Tidy: http://www.eco-schoolswales.org

Eco-Schools in Northern Ireland is run by Tidy Northern Ireland: http://www.tidynorthernireland.org/eco-schools/