What is Eco schools?
Eco-Schools is a global initiative led in England by Keep Britain Tidy. It is an educational programme that is pupil-led, involving hands-on learning that gets the whole school and the wider community involved in exciting environmental and sustainability projects.
– It’s the largest programme educational programme on the planet engaging 19.5m children across 67 countries!
– The Eco-Schools programme provides a unique opportunity that empowers pupils to lead change within their school and have a positive impact in their wider community
– The programme encourages pupils of all ages and abilities to work together to develop their knowledge and environmental awareness
Why Eco Schools?
Eco-Schools empowers pupils, raises environmental awareness, improves the school environment and also creates financial savings for schools! Eco-Schools is a global initiative. This year’s Eco-Schools pupils will join millions of children from 67 countries in creating change for the benefit of future generations!
We know that children are passionate about the environment and want to lead the way in making positive changes. The Eco-Schools project will promote discussion around waste, recycling and the circular economy in the classroom – This programme gives them the opportunity, not only to uncover the facts about packaging and recycling but to influence the way forward towards a more sustainable future.
How does it work?
All Eco-Schools programmes around the world follow the same Seven Step framework in order to achieve the internationally recognised Eco-Schools Green Flag award. Eco-Schools provides schools with FREE resources for each of the Seven Steps to help schools progress to the international Eco-Schools Green Flag award within 12 months of registration!
For the first Green Flag, schools work on 3 topics, whereas for Green Flag renewals (every two years) schools must work on 5 topics, changing two of the topics with every subsequent renewal.
What are we doing?
– Alongside Plastipak, we have re-developed the content of the waste topic, to become a ‘Waste & Recycling’ topic!
– We have created evidence-based resources that communicate the facts surrounding PET and sustainable packaging solutions.
– The topic will help encourage behavioural change, as well as improving waste management provision in schools and their relationships with their local authorities
– All content for the module will be approved by the Assessments and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) and feed into academic subjects, as well as linking into Global Citizenship as part of the National Curriculum
– These resources will be made available to 19,150 schools across the England from August 2019 and will be officially launched into the programme in September
The 2019 ‘Call to Action’
In 2019 ‘The Challenge’ will be a call to action for all participating schools to take part in a national survey assessing recycling in schools, finding out what waste management resources they have available as well as understanding local authority collections and recycling services
– This National survey will be the first if its kind and will allow the schools to help advise on what they believe we should be doing to improve provision and help harmonise recycling services in schools across the country
– The report will be published in an easy-to-use infographic format and made available to all relevant parties
– As part of the project, we have produced an educational video showing the lifecycle of one of our bottles – from drinking through to recycling and then back to our facility! This video is a great tool to illustrate the ‘closed loop’ of PET bottles and our goals to be fully circular
What’s next? This work by students will provide the springboard for the ‘Circular School 2020 Challenge’ when we’ll be encouraging schools to take an active role in coming up with sustainable waste management solutions with their local authorities!
Why our sponsorship matters
Our sponsorship provides an opportunity to educate children, parents and carers to help shape a sustainable future and drive behavioural change towards waste and recycling! Our funding helps ensure that Eco-Schools resources remain FREE and open to everyone!
How can you get involved?
1. Register to become an Eco-School! https://members.eco-schools.org.uk/
2. Become a Green Flag assessor! As a Volunteer Eco-Schools Assessor you will visit schools and assess whether a school has met the criteria required to achieve the Eco-Schools Green Flag! https://www.eco-schools.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer/
3. Reach out to your local Eco-School and suggest working together on a sustainability project!
Click here to learn more about our environmental stewardship!
