For Amanda Burgess, the daily cycle to school is a time to reflect
I
love cycling and use my bike to commute to school every day. It’s only a mile or so, but there is a big hill each way – and gears are
essential to make it up the steep bits! The short journey can be full of surprises – a friendly wave, a quick chat or even a race with another cyclist (usually male, who thinks that the woman in heels on a bike with panniers is going to be slow). In a way, the commute is a bit like
the school year: it goes along at a steady pace for a while, then you get a steep hill to climb and you need all your gears to get to the top. Then something unexpected happens and you need to slam on your brakes. And then there is the downhill. Wheee, all the way to the summer holidays…
This year, the soaring cost of
living and energy bills have put schools under increasing financial pressure, both in terms of budgets and our wider community. However, there is always a bright side. The energy crisis has brought into sharp focus the climate emergency and the need to change the way we operate, with schools aiming to reduce their carbon footprints to zero by 2030. I’m hoping this will also open up funding options, with more grants available to help us make the transformation. At my school, the student rep
system now includes eco reps. Getting your students on board early is important for any major change. Ours will be tasked with carrying out an eco-audit of all areas and picking one at a time for us to focus on. We will also include our PTA (as part of the wider school), looking at how they can make more use of local
suppliers and keep waste at events to a minimum by reusing and recycling. Families are becoming much more
eager to engage in initiatives which will save them money. Our second- hand uniform shop has been in high demand – and helps us do our bit to protect the planet’s finite resources. We are lucky to have a couple of fast fashion activists in our community who have helped us by doing assemblies. These have highlighted some shocking facts and statistics (such as the fact that it takes three years’ worth of one person’s drinking water to make one cotton T-shirt). The activists led workshops and coached a group of students to run their own clothes swap last term. This was so successful that we are hoping to make these events a regular part of the school calendar. We have also linked with our
local food banks and have been doing bi-termly collections to help support families and raise awareness of the impact of food poverty within our town. The food bank staff have come to speak to our students to help to break down barriers and counter misunderstandings. It’s lovely to jump on my bike after
a busy day – I can unwind as my legs turn rhythmically on the familiar journey and switch onto autopilot.
Amanda Burgess has a part-time role as community liaison and income generating manager at Priory School, Lewes.
42 SUMMER 2023 FundEd
IMAGES: ALEKSEI NAUMOV; BUBBLE86/
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
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