Eco-Schools
Eco-Schools is a pupil-led programme with the aim to make a school more ecofriendly; it involves hands-on, real-world learning and gets the whole school and the wider community involved in exciting environmental projects.Our Eco-code was: reduce litter, increase biodiversity and reduce energy use. Because of the lockdown we could not do as much as the years before but since March Eco-Schools have become very active again with committee meetings once a month.
The logo and Eco-code now contain increase recycling as well. From anecdotal enquiries it became clear that a lot of students are worried about what happens to the plastic as part of waste disposal. Plastic recycling is complicated and the school is working on solutions to start in September. However, in the meantime the members of the Eco-committee have made it very clear they want raise more awareness and promote elimination of single use plastic. Members of the Eco-committee have started to wear badges made from recycled plastic, produced by Olin from year 7.
A few years ago, we started this at Beauchamp College and completed the first cycle. We formed an Eco-committee (which now has over 50 members), we did an environmental review and wrote an action plan followed with some work in 2018-2020:
Reduce litter
(Litter picking should not be necessary – in 2018-19 we did litter picking, so in assemblies we told all students we should not have to do this)
Increase biodiversity
We started a garden group in 2018-19 but because of the new build LDD we lost that garden. We planted over 100 hedges and 5 trees.
Reduce energy use
We reminded teachers to switch off lights when leaving the room and projectors before break. Check whether the computers are off at the end of period 7.
The bulletin of the school now has an Eco-corner with weekly messages for staff (for them and to pass on to the students). In those messages, teachers are regularly reminded to switch off projectors, computers and lights when not needed.
Nikhil, from year 12, is doing a lot of work behind the scenes to keep the Eco-schools committee running and takes minutes of the meetings. He talks to a lot of students and makes sure that teachers stay involved.
There is now a garden behind the garages where staff and teachers are now doing work on a weekly basis. In the academic year of 2021-22 there will be a clear program to have something growing in each month of the year to further increase biodiversity.
Before
Before
May 2021
We now have a no policy for laminating documents in reprographics, only if they are created by hand do we laminate, everything else is printing on tuff stuff which can be recycled.
We have reduced paper wastage by using papercut follow me, you can no longer print by mistake.
Plain paper Trimmings are recycled into pet bedding.
In May the Beauchamp City Sixth Form has joined the TEAMS meetings and have started initiatives at BCFC.
Anyone interested in finding out more please contact EcoSchoolMail in outlook or Tracey Sword: [email protected]