Cornwall Council discuss the eco-schools project

Transcript

00:00So the EcoSchools programme began for us probably about 18 months ago. It was a way to augment

00:12and enhance really what we were already doing in and beyond the curriculum. And I think

00:19it was a really good vehicle to promote some positive changes that we'd made and also push

00:31through things that we wanted to do better. You know, our youngest children got involved

00:36with building bug hotels and making fat balls for the birds, bird watching, getting to know

00:42the names of the animals and the trees on our site. We went through a programme of tree

00:46planting here, which our EcoSchools team led. They then led lots of assemblies, bringing

00:51different topics to the forefront and set little challenges that were done as challenges

01:01at home. And then we celebrated them through those assemblies. It's a way for children

01:06to really take pride in their school. So we've got children who are responsible for collecting

01:12the fruit waste, the peelings from the kitchen, filling our own compost, collecting and sorting

01:18the recycling each week. And I think it's those things that are really tangible and hands-on

01:26and they're easy to do and the children will lead it once you give them the

01:32the tools and the initiative and the purpose and reason behind it. We learn how to make bird

01:40feeders, how to make bird food and also make bug hotels and plant trees to help the environment.

01:48We learned about bug hotels and EcoClub and we made fat balls. It was really fun.

01:54For me, I think it's really important to educate young people very early on about climate change

02:03so they can make good choices, sustainable choices and hopefully go on to choose green careers

02:11and help us to save the planet because at the end of the day they are our future.