Welcome to the team Francis

Lee and Karyn are delighted to introduce Francis – our new member joining the Eco-Schools team.

Francis is based in our Wigan HQ – creating resources to help you and travelling the country – delivering training, visiting Eco-Schools and meeting Eco-Coordinators. We’ve asked Francis a few questions, so he can introduce himself in his own words…

Why did you want to join Eco-Schools?
“I am passionate about young people’s education and passionate about our environment, so joining Eco-Schools is perfect! The role also sounded brilliant – giving me the chance to create resources to help teachers and interact with schools on their Eco-journey.”

What did you do before joining the Eco-Schools team?
“For the last five years I have been a primary school teacher in Liverpool. Before becoming a teacher I worked in bookshops, record stores, an organic supermarket and even as a Green Team Member for an MLS team.”

If you had to pick one, which is your favourite Eco-Schools topic?
“Whilst I feel like I should answer Marine because it is fresh new and exciting, my actual answer is Global Citizenship (sorry other Eco-team members)! I like Global Citizenship because there is a lot of issues around this topic in the news at the moment and I can’t wait to help teachers address some of these issues positively by creating resources for this topic.”

Have you done an Environmental Review and Action Plan of your own house yet?
“Of course! The week I began Eco-Schools I got a smart meter installed in my house (energy topic), we have bird feeders and houses, herb gardens and plants in our yard and we even have a little Westie called Kyp (biodiversity). I always use canvas bags for our weekly shop (waste). That’s three topics already – I am now awaiting delivery of my Green Flag :)”

Have you learnt any top tips or great ideas from Eco-Committees yet?
“I have seen so many wonderful things Eco-Schools are doing already and spent the morning reading amazing entries for our #GreatBritishSpringClean poetry competition from Eco-Schools around the country. I guess my favourite tip so far is from a school who planted raspberries in their school for their healthy living and school grounds topics. Unfortunately, one night the raspberries got eaten by birds. However, the school still used this as evidence for their successful Green Flag application, this just shows that as long as you are trying, you are making a difference and anything is achievable.”

What are you most looking forward to in your new job?
“I am excited to see more schools gaining Green Flag awards and hopefully using some of the resources I have created to make this process easier. I am also looking forward to meeting teachers from around the country and talking with them about Eco-Schools and sharing their amazing ideas. Hopefully, I will get a chance to pop into some schools as an assessor and meet some Eco-Committees!”