November 27th 2020
Being green around the school
As a school community we are very aware of our carbon footprint and just before the first national lockdown, we were endeavouring to reduce this in any way that we could. A number of initiatives had been discussed by a group of like-minded teachers and were just about to be rolled out across the school. Sadly, Covid-19 then came along and we all ended up at home. Since returning to school, the restrictions placed on us have limited some of the plans we had but we are still able to put a few things in place.
Firstly, the Pre-Prep, under the guidance of Mrs McKenzie, have been making bird feeders from recycled materials which can be used on the school grounds to attract native small birds. These birds can be monitored and watched by the children and we hope to attract a number of visitors that we otherwise may not have seen at Moulsford. This raises the boys’ awareness of their environment and the incredible variety of creatures we share it with.
Pre-Prep are also planning on planting a herb garden in the Spring to grow things that can be used by the school kitchen as part of the lunch menu.
The Boarding House staff have begun taking the boys out on litter picks each week, looking after the amazing environment we have here and increasing their awareness of the need to bin rubbish and recycle anything we can. They have also been doing thorough tours of the school each evening to make sure all computers and lights are off so as not to use more energy than we absolutely need.
Madame Howard and Miss Roberts are running an After School Upcycling Activity with the Junior boys, giving them the chance to bring in items from home that they no longer use and breathing new life into them. This Activity is very small at the moment, but we are hoping it will gather momentum and members next term. I have also been using more recycled materials for projects in DT with Years 3, 4 and 5. All the card and paper they have used has been recycled and the Year 3 boys have been bringing in their used cardboard from home to incorporate into their DT work.
We would love to set up more recycling stations in school in the future, but for the time being we cannot do this for obvious reasons.
Food waste is still a big problem at school. Boys are encouraged to only ask for what they want and to eat everything on their plate, but this isn’t always successful. Support from home would help enormously with this. The boys understand that waste is not a good thing but there is always the attitude that ‘it’s just a little bit’….but little bits add up to big bits and this is something we would really need to tackle and reduce. We would also like to see a return to a meat free day. This didn’t take off the first time it was introduced, but the impact it would have if we could have just one a day a week with no meat, would be enormous. There is a general attitude that meat is necessary for energy and protein, but this has been proved to be a myth and there are many other sources of energy and protein to be had that are actually far more effective. As parents you are no doubt aware of the effects of the meat industry on our planet, and you probably monitor the amount that you consume at home. If you or the boys have any ideas for a tasty meat free school meal we would love to hear your suggestions. We have already cut the use of plastic in the school kitchen but this would be another huge step in the right direction.
Finally, we have six boys from each year in Years 5 to 8 taking part in the ‘Get Set Global Challenge’. This is an online learning challenge for pupils aged 10 to 14 which has been set up by The World Wildlife Fund in partnership with Netflix. Pupils will be learning online about our planet and ways in which they can help save it and they will all take part in a worldwide quiz on 4th December. Winning schools have the chance to win some amazing prizes.
Any ideas would be extremely welcome to aid us in our quest to become greener. It’s a big challenge but we have the passion and the desire to make a difference if we all work together.
“We have to recognise that every breath of air we take, every mouthful of food we eat, comes from the natural world. And that if we damage the natural world, we damage ourselves……We have the power. We have the knowledge to actually live in harmony with nature.”
David Attenborough
