We are the Eco Warriors
We have had busy times working on our Action plan for the year.
Our highlights:
- Planting
- Litter picking
- Measuring our food waste
- Putting rubbish in the bin
- Putting rubbish in the bin
- Recycling
- Weeding the gardens
- Turning off the lights and electricals if we don't use them
We would like to give you some tips on how to become eco-friendlier at home, too…
- 1. Turn your TV off and play some board games.
- 2. Have showers instead of baths.
- 3. Use a reusable bag when you go to the shops.
- 4. If it is cold first put a jumper on and reconsider having the heating on.
- 5. Go more outdoors and reduce electricity usage at home.
- 6. Use reusable water bottles.
- 7. Turn the lights off.
- 8. Plant bee-friendly plants.
- 9. Do not waste your food- have a weekly meal planner and use any leftovers the next day.
- 10. Put the rubbish in the correct bins.
We went to ERF in Beddington. We were very keen to learn what happens to your rubbish.
Some useful information from our trip:
- 1. Batteries DO NOT go into your rubbish bin as they can be dangerous for the people who
work in the energy recovery facility- please recycle these at your nearest shop.
- 2. Did you know that the trucks collecting your rubbish are full of items you could recycle
e.g. glass jars, plastic bottles, paper, tins and cans?
- 3. The ERF turns general waste into energy by burning the waste. Harmful gases from the
burning are contained and sold to other companies so nothing really goes to waste anymore.
- 4. Top of the waste hierarchy is to reduce your consumption, followed by reuse, recycle,
energy recovery and finally dispose.
At times the news about climate change and other human-made environmental disasters can feel relentlessly depressing.
It would be quite unethical to sit and observe and leave the uneasy task of saving the planet to the next generations to come. This is where the work of our BeDifferent Team in partnership with the Eco Warriors can make a difference and implement 'change'.
We have the potential to develop positive, sustainable habits among our children that can last a lifetime and be valuable from the day that they are learned. Whether it's learning about food and hopefully growing some too, finding out about insulation or harvesting rainwater, we can open children's minds to the possibilities of doing more with less and injecting a sense of planetary purpose into their daily routines.
A litter-free school (and of course litter-free routes to school) is a good indicator of a school's commitment to caring for the environment, which is an important value of sustainable development. It's quite difficult to imagine a school that is conscious about its responsibilities to the environment, allowing litter to go unchallenged. Nobody likes to be near litter - it diminishes our lives and shouts out to all who see it: Nobody cares'.
That's why it makes such a great starting point for thinking about the contribution we can make to its community and to the wider world. Of course it's not just about picking up rubbish from the ground. Combating litter starts much further up the chain. Where has the waste come from in the first place? Who bought it or brought it? Is it part of a wider throwaway culture?
Therefore our 'BeDifferent future' is an important part of our Federation's learning philosophy and has the challenging task of teaching, engaging and developing our children's knowledge and understanding of the factors involved in climate change. We aim to give our Eco Warriors the power to start making little steps to a brighter and more sustainable future and engage everyone in our mission towards a BeDifferent future.