March 2015 Environmental Review

Lets Sort It!

We worked in  our Pupil Citizenship Groups to audit our progress with our Environmental Review.

The results are summarised below.

LITTER (Eco Group)

1,We like where the bins are and we have enough of them. 

1.We need to go over our Litter Policy.

2.Pr 4-7 could help younger classes to do Litter Duty effectively.       

3.We could do a Litter Survey – it has been a while since we did one.

BIODIVERSITY (Eco Group)

                                                                                                                               
1.   We like the plans that Pr 6/7 have made for our “Garden” Area.

1. We can improve where we’re playing

2. We can make visitors and classes more aware that we do value and care for living things.

FOOD AND THE ENVIRONMENT (Mrs Skelton’s group)

             1. We like the vegetable planting and growing that is planned for the Garden.

2. The Cook is trying to use more seasonal and local foods.

              1. Grow more of our own vegetables

                         2. More farm visits to see where our food comes from.

                         3. We’d like Cook to get a silver medal for using more local and seasonal food.

WATER (Mrs Sutherland’s group)

                 1. Aware of need to conserve water and we collect rainwater.

 1. Water fountains – still waiting for new ones to be installed.                     

                                       2. Look at water pollution- help younger pupils to understand what it is about.

SUSTAINING OUR WORLD (Mrs Fraser’s LINKS group)

           1. We have learned lots of things about the cultures in other countries and about endangered animals.   

                        2. We have registered for UNICEF’s “Rights Respecting Schools’ Initiative.”

                            1. We will work on becoming a Rights Respecting School.

                      2. Develop links with other schools to discuss environmental issues.

                            3. Become a Fair Trade School.

ENERGY (Mrs MacLeod’s group)

                               1. We are aware of ways to save energy because of our Energy Week ECO  focus.

 

                        1. We would like to reduce our Energy Performance Rating. ECO team could consider ways to improve our energy use.

 

HEALTH AND WELL BEING (Miss Melville and Rising Stars group)

                               1. Healthy Food choices at dinners. We like the vegetable and bread on the tables now.

                                                       2.Less waste since we get now get asked what our preferences are e.g soup/beans

                                                    3. Feel safe in school

                                                    4. Lots of opportunities for sports and exercise.

                                1. Meal portions being the same

                                             2. Enough drinks/pudding choices for everyone.

                                              3. Drinking water available.

                                         4. When hall timetable changes, some classes miss their PE slot. (eg Pupil groups/special events)

                                           5. Outdoor playing space – pitch / MUGA

WASTE MINIMISATION (Mrs Martin Hodgson’s group)

                          1. We like our Litter Rota.

                                            2.Paper and card recycling in all classes and offices.

                                                3. Food waste bins in dining hall and staff room.

                                            4. Recycling waste scheme with Highland Council

                                              5. Saving paper by putting more information to parents on the School Website and Class Blogs. 

          1. Reinforcement of lunch waste advice

                                         2. Reusing more paper and art materials.

                                         3. More “class” letters home could go on the website or class blogs. Parents to be reminded to check website/blogs.

TRANSPORT (Miss McLean’s JUNIOR ROAD SAFETY GROUP)

                            1. Routes to school are clear and safe

                                           2. How many pupils walk and cycle to school.

        1. Better and safer bike sheds and shelters.

                   2. Safe dropping off place for drop – off

                                             3. More places to cross that feel safe

                                            4. More walking or cycling events

IMPROVING SCHOOL GROUNDS (Mrs Prentice’s group)

 

        1. Tyre swings or rope swings?

        2. Broken equipment needs replaced

                                     3. Tents for dens and use of willow again.

Energy global footprint group

Mrs  Macleod and her pupil group looked at Energy and our Global Footprint. They discussed the definition of what our Global Footprint is. We watched  a clip about the Carbon Family.

We identified ways we could reduce our Carbon Footprint and looked at Fossil Fuels.We investigated different types of Renewable energy and made a wind pinwheel. We discussed energy bills and created some Energy board games. Angus and Caitlin made a Powtoon.

http://www.powtoon.com/show/fxXbqwKxsNe/energy-by-caitlin-t-and-angus/#/

Malawi – Mrs McLelland’s Global Citizenship group

Well done to this Pupil Group who were comparing life in Malawi to life in Scotland.

Lesson 1

Read the book Every Child has the Right and discussed what rights were, chose 1  right and made  poster in groups.

Lesson 2

Finished posters.

Lesson 3

Looked at Malawi on the map, discussed what is was like there. Discussed what we like to play with. Then looked at the toys from Malawi, discussing differences between their toys and ours.

Lesson 4

Decided to try to make our own toys , in groups, using waste materials…paper, plastic bags etc

Lesson 5

Finished making our toys and tested them outside.

Lesson 6

Evaluated out football toys  and shared what we learnt from the whole experience.

 

 

Water Group – Global footprint

Mrs Sutherland and her Global footprint Water group looked at ways we could all save water and protect our water systems to reduce pollution and protect  the environment.

Lesson 1 – discussed ways we use water/scarcity and conserving water.

Lesson 2 – Investigated how water gets to school and from school. (water purification process and water cycle)

Lesson 3 – Researched water in the Developing World. (lack of water cause of poverty)

Lesson 4 – Tap V Bottled Water Making informed choices and experiment to see if we could taste the difference.

Lesson 5 –  Ecological Footprint. Ways to conserve water – reed beds, grey water, composting toilets

Lesson 6 – Ryan’s story – We can make a difference. Environmental Review questions discussed.

Food and the Environment – Our Ecological Footprint

Mrs Skelton and her Citizenship Group looked at our Food ecological footprint. They interviewed the School Cook about where the food for our school lunches comes from. All Highland Primary Schools have been awarded the Bronze Food for LIfe Catering Mark from the Soil Association for offering delicious, healthy and climate friendly menus.

We really enjoyed investigating our food miles and collected wrappers and labels from a variety of products from all around world. We designed colourful and informative posters showing the amazing number of miles our food travels. We think buying locally and in season is good practice.

Lesson 1 – discussed what “Global Footprint” means before moving on to a”Food Footprint” discussion. Planned out what we were going to learn.

Lesson 2 – Began investigating “Food Footprints”. In pairs, we did a “What goes into my packed lunch?” activity. (From Global Footprint pack). We looked at where our food comes from and the journey it takes to get to our kitchen.

Lesson 3 – Discusses “Food miles” and buying local and seasonal food. ICT activity to check distances some food travels to reach us. Explored pros/cons of buying food from overseas.

Lesson 4 – Discussed food labels, brought in by pupils and compared the range of places/countries. Could we grow those foods here? Began posters explaining what food miles are and why we should buy locally produced, seasonal food. Reduce food miles was our message!

Lesson 5 – Completed posters. Looked at food used in school for one week in February. Discussed where it came from and how it reached us. Any local food? Group visited Cook to find out how much is locally produced, seasonal and organic. Reported back to group for discussion.

Lesson 6 – Environmental Review (Food and the Environment) Reviewed our learning and clarified how we can reduce our Global Footprint.

Failte Malawi – Mrs Peace’s group

LET’S SORT IT

Mrs Peace and her Global Citizenship Group found out where Malawi was on a map. They looked at photos of children from Malawi and  saw differences in their clothing and how they lived.

They made a list of toys and games we play with and then compared it with what children play with in Malawi.

They enjoyed the story of Galimoto and discussed making a toy from recycled materials.

They made a football from old bags, string and elastic bands and tested it out!

Finally they made Malawi flags and understood what the different colours and patterns symbalised.

 

Waste Minimisation global footprint group

Mrs Martin Hodgson and her pupil group have been thinking about ways to reduce our waste. They covered a lot in the six sessions.

1. What is waste? What’s the problem? We got into groups and looked at world wide waste and  local Lochardil Waste.

2. Home/School – Where are we at?

What are we doing well? What do we need to improve on? We worked cooperatively as teams to come up with our priorities.

3. Personal Waste Pledges.

After group discussions, we decided which idea would suit ourselves and our families best. We completed our pledge forms and tried a 2 week challenge!

4. Feedback session about our pledges.

We worked on a class pledge and shared these with our own class.

5. Target setting. Waste aware checklist for classes

We researched http://www.recycleforyourcommunity.com      www.recyclenow.com      recyclezone.org.uk      bbc.co.uk.bitesize recycling

6. Finalising Waste Aware Advice.

Checklist created and delivered to each class.

Waste Minimisation Environmental Review

LETS SORT IT!

Failte Malawi – Miss Macarthur’s Pupil Group

We have been learning all about Malawi and Tanzania. These countries are both in Africa.

We learned about the schools there, the toys that children play with, how water is used and we saw photos of African homes.

Miss Macarthur visited a school in Tanzania, called Fuka School, and she showed us photos of it. We spotted lots of differences! They didn’t have computers, interactive whiteboards or things to play with in the classroom. Some boys and girls didn’t even have paper or a pencil to write with.

The staff at the school gave Miss Macarthur African dresses as a present and we tried them on!

By Miss Macarthur’s Pupil Group.

Waste Awareness and our Global Footprint

Mrs Martin Hodgson’s Global Footprint Citizenship group worked on ways for us all to reduce our waste. They made a classroom checklist for us to display and use.

Waste Aware Advice

• Monitor normal waste bin for items that should go into the recycling bin
• Use scrap paper, computer files, whiteboards etc whenever possible instead of ‘good’ paper
• Organise a scrap paper tray/place and make sure everyone knows where it is in classrooms
• Only use water you really need in sinks and toilets
• Open windows instead of using air-conditioners for fresh air
• Use your own personal energy to travel to school as often as possible
• Use jotter space / paper wisely
• Turn off lights and electrical appliances when not needed
• Use recyclable materials for Art as much as possible

Remember -Reuse, Reduce, Recycle

• Card
• Paper
• Cardboard
• Water bottles
• School uniform
• Newspapers
• Plastic pots
• Food

Advice compiled by:

P7 – Christopher, Callum, Nina, Emma          P6 – Tara, Iona, Harris, Cara, Rhea

P5 – Charlie, Aiden, Rhona, Finlay                   P4 – Marc, Sadie, Niamh, Adela, Jack

Composting at Nursery

It is so good to see how enthusiastic the Butterfly Nursery pupils are about Composting! It is part of their everyday activities and they all help to get rid of their snack scraps and garden waste. Keep up the good work. Hopefully you will have super soil to use in your nursery pots soon.