The future is not just bright for Queen Elizabeth II High School it’s green!
Environmentally friendly students from the School shot to the top of the award stakes by securing their second Eco-Schools Green Flag award. Local MHKs and councillors joined the School Governing Body in congratulating members of the eco-committee and allotment club for their pioneering work. The School’s eco-committee also won the overall Keep Britain Tidy Diamond Jubilee Award at a celebration in Liverpool at half term. This was in recognition of their superb leadership and commitment.
The students have been working hard on a variety of projects that benefit the environment and save the school money.
Simple changes, like ensuring all unnecessary lights are switched off have already cut bills. Recycling projects have included transforming old t-shirts into bracelets and animal toys. Food tins have been made into roofing tiles for the bike shed. Clothes have been grown to spread the message around the environmental and human abuses in the ‘fast fashion’ industry. Food is being grown for the School canteen and local ‘tidy ups’ of glens and beaches have been undertaken.
Managed in England by Keep Britain Tidy, Eco-Schools asks children to set up a committee involving students from all years. They then set to work on a school audit that highlights areas of the school that could be made more environmentally friendly.
Headteacher, Sue Moore said,
'Obtaining the Green Flag award is something that the whole school and its surrounding community can be proud of. Each student will be able to take away some degree of satisfaction in the knowledge that their actions have significantly altered their local environment. It has been a fantastic initiative for all involved, and it is by no means over, as the greater challenge is to maintain what we have achieved so far and look towards ways of improving even further.'
Research conducted by Keep Britain Tidy found that schools spend just under 1 MILLION POUNDS a year on electricity. Energy-saving light bulbs last up to ten times longer than ordinary ones and save between £5 and £10 per bulb, per year. Considering the amount of light bulbs required for each school – this change could prove to be a massive saving.
The benefits of working towards an award such as the Green Flag extend beyond the improvement of the environmental quality of the school. The programme gives the students a sense of responsibility and pride in what they have achieved. With this comes the hope that they will continue this behaviour in the wider community.
