Earth savers
Initiatives to restore nature and reduce our consumption of valuable resources allow schools to help deliver a sustainable future for their pupils, says Emma Griffin
Earth Restoration Service
This UK environmental charity is working to restore degraded environmental habitats by partnering with schools to plant trees and wildflowers in local communities. Its School Tree Nursery programme offers pupils the opportunity to plant, look after, observe and learn from trees. Saplings, canes and protectors are ordered from local tree nurseries and delivered to schools. The charity also provides planting guides and educational activities. After a couple of years, the trees are planted out by schools to create a new mini woodland or green spaces. This means children are actively involved in restoring their local environment. The cost of saplings is usually funded by grants or private sponsorship, which the charity sources from opportunities available local to the school.
earthrestorationservice.org/nursery ‘When we heard that we would be receiving saplings, I chose to use it as a focus for an after-school STEM club. We thought about the best location, measured up, drew plans, learnt how to use tools safely and built raised beds. As the date of the saplings’ arrival was delayed, we were instead able to launch the tree nursery during British Science Week and got a grant for some measuring equipment to monitor the trees and weather. We invited a couple of children who struggle with academic work to help with the planting, tying them into the success of the project. With different groups of children in school since Easter, it has been easy to take groups out to measure the saplings, record changes, and so on.’ Marion Lyon, teacher, Bledlow Ridge School, High Wycombe, Bucks
Fully funded, paid through the energy
savings made e-Light LED lighting
Energy company e-Light can save your school money and reduce your carbon emissions by upgrading inefficient lighting to high-quality LEDs. Its Light as a Service (LaaS) solution begins with an audit of a school’s existing lighting. There are no upfront fees as each project is paid through a service fee at a fixed amount for the length of the contract – typically five to seven years. Schools can make savings from day one and
FREE to
schools, where funding can be locally sourced by the charity
at the end of the contract the lighting is theirs to keep. The fee covers all maintenance during the contract, including project management and recycling of old lighting. Following the closure of the government’s Salix Fund, e-Light has launched its own Green Energy Fund, with a simple application process. Schools can use an online calculator to work out how much they could save per month.
elight.com/schools-calculator/ ‘By upgrading to LED lighting we can save approximately £3,000 per month per site. We’ve had two sites fitted so that’s a saving of £36,000 per year on each site, which is brilliant. The money saved will go back into education – buying laptops, computers and more sports equipment.’ Darren West, regional estates manager, Aldridge Education ‘We have a very strong green agenda here and it’s wonderful to see the students get behind it and appreciate that we are making a difference. Overall, it’s something that really resonated with the values of the school.’ Mark Poston, principle, Portslade Aldridge Community Academy, Portslade, Sussex
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
