November Newsletter!
Hello! The Eco-Schools Team is extra excited about our November Newsletter, because we can finally share our new Climate Confident Video Series! Presented by Sarah Roberts (author of Somebody Swallowed Stanley, Somebody Crunched Colin, and Somebody Woke Wilson)! This five part video series has been designed to help put environmental issues at the centre of school life. We’re really proud of it, and we hope it helps you get the global agenda on your school agenda!
In recent weeks, we have been asked several times whether it is too late to embark on the Eco-Schools programme this academic year, if you’re currently wondering about this, our answer is – absolutely not! There is still plenty of time to get started, remember, it is never too late to begin making a difference.
Finally, just a quick reminder that registration for Session 2 of Eco-Schools training (delivered in Spring Term), opens on the 5th of December and all are welcome, even if you didn’t make it to Session 1! Find more details here!
Climate Confident: How to Cover Climate Change and Sustainability in Your School
Covering climate change and sustainability in schools has never been so important. Young people, parents, and even the government are looking to schools to tackle the key subjects and act. But there’s a catch… In a recent educator survey conducted by Twinkl, 92% of respondents said they felt that teaching on climate change and sustainability was very important. But almost 70% said that they didn’t feel confident doing it.
In response, Eco-Schools has teamed-up with eco-journalist and author Sarah Roberts to produce this new five-part video series, ‘Climate Confident’. The series covers everything that educators and schools need to know to get the global agenda on their school agenda, from the basics of climate change, to eco-anxiety, to layering climate change across your curriculum.
Kids Against Plastic: Plastic Clever Schools
Eco-Schools’ Friends Kids Against Plastic and Common Seas have teamed up to bring you Plastic Clever Schools, a school-wide, student-led movement to radically reduce plastic waste.
With only three steps – Inspire, Investigate, and Act – becoming Plastic Clever is simple. And the great news? Taking part will help you produce evidence for your Eco-Schools Green Flag award, with links to Litter, Waste, Marine, Global Citizenship and more!
Register with Kids Against plastic for free at plasticcleverschools.co.uk to access engaging workbooks and toolkits to guide you and your school through the process.
Eco-Schools Awards Update
The Eco-Schools Annual Award Ceremony is planned for January 2023! The ceremony will be hosted online and will celebrate the exceptional work of schools throughout England who go above and beyond to protect our planet. The Eco-Schools Team have been busy shortlisting entries and will be choosing the winners very soon!
Eco-Schools Impact Report Update
The first ever (and set to become annual) Eco-Schools Impact report will be released before the Eco-Schools December newsletter. The report will celebrate the cumulative impacts of amazing Eco-Schools from across the country! Watch this space, because the work of Eco-Coordinators and their Eco-Committees in 2021-2022 was incredibly inspirational.
Eco-Fact: Schools and universities represent 36% of total UK public sector building emissions – that’s a lot of emissions!
And Eco-Schools want to give schools across England a helping hand to reduce their emissions, which is why we will soon be launching our first-ever, national Cut Your Carbon Campaign! The Cut Your Carbon campaign will focus on three areas: textiles, energy, and food and will come with fantastic, free resources that put young people in control of reducing carbon emissions in their school and local community! The campaign week is scheduled for February 2023, and further details will be available in December’s Eco-Schools Newsletter.
Nether Hall School – Creating an Amazing Outdoor Learning Space!
Nether Hall have been developing their amazing outdoor learning space this year. So far, the space has fruit trees, bug hotels, wildflower areas, relaxation benches, 2 willow domes and a new outdoor classroom. Their site has become a carbon capturing colossus. To top it all off, they’ve built a sensory garden from recycled tyres and eco bricks.
Next, They plan to develop a mini forest and a track to encircle the whole area, giving their wheelchair users full access. Make sure to watch out for the first ever annual Eco-Schools’ Impact report for many other fantastic examples from schools across England. The Impact Report will linked to in December’s Eco-Schools’ newsletter.
