Enviro drive steps up a gear
The drive to improve environmental awareness in all aspects of education has stepped up this year.
In May, the DfES launched a consultation on its proposals to makeschools models of sustainable development in every aspect of theiractivity from curriculum to waste management, landscaping toalternative energy sources.
In what is believed to be a first for Government, the consultationis climate neutral. The DfES has offset the CO2 emissions arising fromall printing and distribution, consultation events, and response routesby giving money towards sustainable energy projects such as theproduction of energy efficient cooking stoves for schools in India andenergy efficient lighting for schools in Kazakhstan.
The document sets out a dual role for schools in fosteringsustainable development. They can help to prepare young people for alifetime of learning and sustainable living, helping them be part ofthe solution to the world’s big challenges. They also have thepotential to be the hearts of communities, demonstrating sustainablepractices in a way that will inspire parents and carers, businesses andothers to take similar action.
The Education Select Committee is also in the throes of an inquiryinto the progress of the Government’s Building Schools for the Future(BSF) programme and the academies building programme, investigatingwhether they will deliver buildings to meet the needs of learners andcommunities now but also for the future. The Government proposals havebeen broadly welcomed, although some environmental campaigners believethat more effort should be put into making schools sustainabledevelopments from scratch.
Under the BSF programme, England’s 3,500 secondary schools will berebuilt or refurbished over the next decade and a half in a programmecosting around £45 billion. The DfES insists that sustainabledevelopment is a keystone of the plans and BSF projects have to meetenvironmental conditions over and above normal building regulations,with targets including water consumption and carbon emissions. TheSustainable Development Commission, the independent body overseeingsustainability matters for the Government, believes the buildingstandards should be set even higher and that early BSF projects shouldhave been given more money to include sustainability features so otherswould be encouraged to follow suit.
In evidence to the Education Select Committee’s inquiry,environmental consultants HTI suggested that BSF’s attempts to bringabout a transformation in school buildings and in learning processesneeded for the future would falter unless more was done to help schoolleaders and architects to understand the principles of sustainability.HTI was also concerned about the involvement of the private sector inBSF, arguing that private firms seek to maximise their profits over 25years, whereas BSF schools should be built to last well beyond that.BSF aside, for some schools the drive to become more environmentallyaware poses fresh challenge but for others it is nothing new.
There are many around the country who, in some cases for decades,have been putting the theory of environmental awareness into practiceboth in teaching and learning and in the way the school operates.Kesgrave High School in Suffolk has introduced a range of travelinitiatives, enabling pupils to reduce the environmental impact oftheir journey to school and to keep fit. Safer routes to school, aseparate entrance for walkers and cyclists and cycle parking areas haveresulted in a change of travelling habits and 75% of pupils now walk orcycle to school. Culcheth High School in Cheshire participates in awasteminimisation education programme led by the environmental charityGroundwork. Pupils visit a landfill site or recycling centre to see howmuch waste is produced in their area and the impact it has on theenvironment. The experience then feeds into the curriculum with pupilsmaking recycled paper for posters in design and technology and writingreports on their site visits for literacy.
Healthy eating also comes into the equation at Thomas Tallis Schoolin London, where herbs grown in a cottage garden designed by pupils areused in recipes during food technology, while St Matthew’s PrimarySchool in Belfast has set up a fruit cooperative scheme that sees theschool buying fruit from local traders, and selling it to pupils eachmorning with profits put into pupils’ savings accounts managed by alocal credit union. Consultation on the Government’s proposals closesthis month. For more information see www.teachernet.gov.uk/sustainableschools/index.cfm