What is ‘Eco-schools’?
Eco-schools is a programme designed to encourage schools and all those associated with the school to think about the impact that they are having on the environment around them. The aim is for the students, with guidance from the staff, to take more responsibility for their school and their own actions.
At Painsley the eco school group consists of the school co-ordinators, representatives for the support staff, parents and two eco-reps form each form. The eco-council meets regularly to work on environmenatl initiatives.
What is an Eco-reps role?
Each eco-rep has the responsibility of promoting environmental awareness with their form and encouraging their form to take responsibility for their own individual impacts on the environment. The eco-reps also have to ensure that regular paper recycling takes place within their form room and that electricity is conserved whenever possible. The eco-reps are required to attend meeting that will be held to update and discuss further actions to be carried out by the eco-council. A number of the eco-reps will represent their peers on the full eco-council meetings with the staff and parents.
What has the Eco-council done?
Over the last few years the eco-council has been working towards its targets as outlined in the action plans developed by the eco-council.
As a result the following has taken place:
Bird boxes have been designed and made by students in Y10. Some of these have been put up with the help of the education officer from Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. The rest of the boxes are in the process of being installed as the building work is completed.
Energy consumption has been highlighted as an issue in school and as a result a working party has been set up to try to find strategies to reduce energy consumption in school. The results of the work done by the group has seen more efficient ‘ecoquiet’ computers installed in all classrooms and a remote power down programme purchased to allow many of the computers to be automatically switched off at the end of the day. Motion sensors have been fitted in certain areas of the school that will mean that the lights are only on when there are people around e.g. claokroms and corridors. All classrooms have a ‘switch out the lights notice’ that was designed by a Y7 pupil.
The recycling work continues to be a success, with paper recycling taking place throughout the school. A successful mobile phone recycling campaign meant that at least 40 phones were sent to be recycled or to less wealthy countries for them to use. The scheme has been relaunched and a bin to recycle phones is avalibale in the school office.Most importantly a waste audit was carried out in November 2008 and as a result the school has been issued bins that are in line with the home recycling schemes in the Moorlands. We now are able to recycle plastic, cans, glass, paper, food waste and cardboard more efficiently. Plastic bottle bins are located in the pupil entrance and in the canteen.
What next?
The main areas to be developed are related to increasing awareness of biodiversity and trying to reduce water usage.
