school eco-club ideas

[applegirl]

I have volunteered to start an eco-club with a teacher at my daughter's primary school. I have some ideas already but would appreciate any further ideas you all may have. Thanks!

p.s. this is the first time I have posted here so hope this works, I have been reading for a while and decided to finally register

[Green Aura]

Hi applegirl and welcome

Sounds like a brilliant idea. I think it would be really good to base all your activities around the reduce, re-use recycle theme. It stuns me how many adults just don't get it at all - they seem to think that because they send stuff for recycling they're doing their bit, not that this is the last thing in a chain of possibilities, the first a better option than the next etc.

Can you take the kids out at all? - I know it's difficult these days - but if you could show them where things grow (garden, farm or wherever) then show them a greengrocers or market with loose fruit and veg to select, and then a supermarket with everything shrink-wrapped, with far-flung countries of origin. Of course, you could grow quick stuff (cress, radishes etc)with them, take fruit in brown paper bags and the plastic alternatives. You're introducing loads of different themes (food production, packaging, food miles etc) that you can expand on in all sorts of fun and exciting ways (how to re-use any leftovers, packaging etc and what happens to what they can't re-use, recycle etc) and believe me, the kids will grasp it all really easily.

I've got loads more ideas but that's my lecture for the day!
Hope your club goes well.

[Dave]

Hello applegirl - I was speaking to a teacher recently who is doing exactly the same thing in her school. She is starting up a wild-life garden with bird boxes, bird tables, insect hotels and their thinking of putting in a pond (their are issues of children falling in with this one so it might have to have some kind of netting placed over it).
They also already have a wormery and a small veg patch and they're trying to raise money for a solar panel!

[Shirley]

I'm not sure whether this was posted here on on Neeps - but this is likely to be of interest

http://www.co-operative.coop/ourcampaig ... orschools/

You can nominate your school to get a free solar panel fitted.

[weatherwax]

Hi apple girl I have loads of resources that can help you with eco schools projects, whereabouts are you? and does the school already have eco schools status, or is that what you are aiming for? What size school is it? If you let me know a few more details I can post the ideas and items that will be useful for you

[MrsD'ville mkII]

Hi,

Taking a slightly different tack, how about encouraging use of email and the school website to get information across to parents, rather than endless letters home? If the children get enthusiastic about this it will help get parents used to the idea and in the habit of checking email. It'll take a load off the school secretary - sending one email is much less time-intensive than reeling off 100 letters and making sure each class gets the right amount etc etc.

You could also get the children involved in a simplified energy audit - how many light bulbs in the school, how long are they left on, are they low-energy, could timers be used etc etc. If children can develop an understanding of how their school is lit and heated and how the water supply works they can then understand why it's desirable to use as little energy as possible and then become enthusiastic about saving energy. The same goes for any resource - paper, ink, books, craft stuff etc.

Dood luck with it. DD's school sent home a letter - yep! - about just this subject last term, but hasn't followed it up with anything yet. We live in hope!

[applegirl]

Thank you all for your great ideas! The school is small, about 50 pupils and we are in Scotland where the eco schools movement seems to be advanced than in England, reading through the responses makes me realise how much the school is doing already. There is a lot of recycling being done already and we made cotton bags with a design by the pupils on them to sell and made quite a lot of money for charity - definitely an idea other schools could try. I was thinking of combining art and craft ideas with reusing things so am planning to make paper to make Christmas cards with and candle holders out of jars, things like that. I will keep you posted! It is great how schools take up the ideas of enthusiastic parents. We just need to keep spreading the message!
Thanks again!

[ina]

Hi,

Taking a slightly different tack, how about encouraging use of email and the school website to get information across to parents, rather than endless letters home? If the children get enthusiastic about this it will help get parents used to the idea and in the habit of checking email.

Not everybody has a computer at home, or internet access! This would only put the poorer half of the population at a disadvantage - yet again. I'm fighting a constant battle here at work to make sure that those colleagues who don't have internet access get all the necessary information...

[weatherwax]

Hi applegirl, we run a session called "trash to treasure" trying to recycle anything we can before resorting to actually sending it for recycling (does that make sense?) any way, there are loads of things to do, but I would get in touch with your local eco schools co-ordinator, most places have one these days, they normally have funding to help you start up any of the more ambitious schemes, but really anything goes, composting the childrens fruit waste, growing herbs and veg for the school kitchen, start a walking bus.
The head has challenged the children for each class to try to save £3 a week by turning off unnecessary lights, closing doors and windows etc....
You can offer the service of newsletters going by email or on the website, but to be honest most parents seem to prefer a paper copy.
collect in old cards and paper after christmas and make things with them, encourage the children to donate the money they would spend on christmas cards to each other to a charity (a bit harder with younger children)
Reduce-Reuse-Recycle, in that order :)

[jim]

Dear Applegirl,

The school I have most contact with runs an eco club on Friday afternoons. Each class has a paper recycling box and compost bin for breaktime fruit remains and volunteers empty these at regular intervals. The compost bins go to the school allotment which is outside the staffroom. Autumn leaves, swept from the playground provide the bulk of the compost. The caretaker has an allotment not far away and classes visit this each season to see how it changes throughout the year.

Around the school grounds are nesting boxes and bug hotels which provide opportunities for the children to observe wildlife at close quarters. Geography and Science topics always have an element of ecology built into the planning and the year 5 children spend an entire term working on a rainforest topic with Drama and IT inputs reinforcing the learning.

Hope this has been useful,

Love and Peace
Jim

[Shirley]

Hi Applegirl,

I'm going to be helping with our eco school club too, so I'm really interested in discussing ideas etc. Whereabouts in Scotland are you?

At a school in Herefordshire that my older son went to, they had a paper recycling collection...raised funds to get a decent shredder and then sold the shredded paper for small animal bedding.

Weatherwax - I love the trash to treasure idea.

http://www.ecoschoolsscotland.org/ has some info and ideas that you may find interesting.

[rockchick]

I am following this thread with much interest. My daughter has just started school and I am itching to find our what activities they carry out so I can get involved. I think they are already an eco-school but not entirely sure what that means yet. The PTFA AGM is weds so I am hoping to find out more.

[MrsD'ville mkII]

Not everybody has a computer at home, or internet access!

Absolutely true and at my daughter's school provision is made for children without these facilities to use a computer in a homework club where necessary. However, just because everyone doesn't have access to something or can't do something doesn't mean other people should be disadvantaged, so I'm sure a system could be arranged where the majority of parents with these facilities (and at my daughter's chool it is the vast majority, as I'm sure it is at many ordinary primary schools) can take advantage of an improves system. I'm not trying to disadvantage anyone!

[applegirl]

Hello everyone,
The good ideas keep coming and the best thing is, this seems to be inspiring more people to get involved at school. We are in Fife. The school does a lot of these excellent ideas already, the email newsletter has been in place for a couple of years and works really well. Those people who don't have computer access just get paper copies. Thanks again for all these ideas!

[ina]

I'm not trying to disadvantage anyone!

I'm sure you are not. It's just so easy in this day and age, where most people have easy access to all things computing, to forget the folks who don't... If it wasn't for me having this constant battle here at work, I probably wouldn't have thought of it either!