COVER FEATURE – Climate change
Sustrans offers practical training
in cycling and scooter skills and works with parents to plan active journeys. Schools can also implement the School Streets programme, where traffic is restricted near the school gates for a short time each day. The PTA can support active travel
by funding resources that make it an easier option. Bennett explains: ‘Lots of schools still don’t have somewhere safe, dry and easily accessible for pupils to keep their bikes and scooters during the day. Providing this parking is one of the things we find has the greatest impact.’ Other schemes include purchasing
bicycles for use during PE lessons or creating cycle libraries where families borrow bikes on a short- term basis. To encourage walking, PTAs can establish a Park and Stride, where parents can park easily and walk the rest of the way to school or organise working parties to clean up overgrown footpaths and make them more accessible.
Don’t go it alone PTAs can work with their schools to participate in national campaigns such as Sustrans’ Big Walk and Wheel (held in March) and Cycle to School Week (held in September). Any school can join these campaigns to help raise awareness of active travel. Bennett notes: ‘Last year’s Big Walk and Wheel created more than two and a half million active journeys, saving 1,335 tonnes of CO2 and 2,984kg NOx emissions if the journeys logged had otherwise been made by car.’ PTAs can even use active travel
as a fundraiser by organising sponsored bike rides and walks to school.
Expand your horizons It doesn’t have to stop there – beyond the school gates, PTAs can engage with the wider community by working with local charities and campaigning groups, encouraging participation in tree-planting drives, rewilding projects and clean-up campaigns.
Resources
LET’S GO ZERO IKEA X LET’S GO ZERO SCHOOL COMPETITION: Share a video of your school’s innovative projects to boost sustainability for the chance to win up to £2,000 of sustainability kit.
SCHOOLS ACTION FOR CLIMATE MONTH (7 JUNE–7 JULY): Celebrate the work being done to combat climate change and biodiversity loss by participating in a range of challenges and activities.
CLIMATE ACTION ADVISERS: A team of real people who assist with projects, from helping embed a sustainability lead to drawing up a climate action plan or carrying out a zero-carbon audit.
THE OVO FOUNDATION NATURE PRIZE (OCTOBER 2024 TBC): Schools can win one of ten prizes of £1,000 or 15 prizes of £200 to bring creative and engaging projects to life.
letsgozero.org
SUSTRANS Schools should speak to their local authority to find out if a Sustrans schools officer can work with them.
BIG WALK AND WHEEL (MARCH): This year marks the 15th Big Walk and Wheel, a campaign that inspires pupils to make active journeys to school and improve air quality in their neighbourhood.
CYCLE TO SCHOOL WEEK (SEPTEMBER): Celebrate the fun and freedom of an eco-friendly cycle school run by taking part in this initiative organised by Bikeability and Sustrans.
FRIDEDAYS BIKE BUS: Help children start the day right by organising a bike bus where families ride to school together.
sustrans.org.uk
ECO-SCHOOLS: Earn an Eco- Schools Green Flag by participating in this seven-step framework that empowers young people to make a difference.
eco-schools.org.uk
ENERGY SPARKS: Using electricity, gas and solar data, Energy Sparks shows how much energy the school is using and suggests actions the school community could take to save energy and reduce its carbon emissions.
energysparks.uk
MEAT-FREE MONDAYS: Encourage pupils to eat more healthily and learn about the global impact of their food choices.
meatfreemondays.com
SAVE OUR WILD ISLES: Find out how your school can help protect and restore nature with free tools and resources from the WWF and RSPB. saveourwildisles.
org.uk/schools
SOLAR FOR SCHOOLS: Action-based learning about energy, environment, regeneration and decarbonisation using solar panels.
solarforschools.co.uk/about/vision
VEOLIA’S SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS: Free programmes from environmental solutions company Veolia that encourage pupils to lead sustainability projects. veolia.
co.uk/schools
16 SPRING 2024
pta.co.uk
IMAGES MONKEYBUSINESSIMAGES/
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM; LET’S GO ZERO
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
