16/10/2023
South Wilford Endowed Church of England Primary School has won the Green Flag award with a Distinction grade from the Eco Schools programme – an awards scheme set up to encourage schools to take action on climate change.
To achieve the Green Flag award, the school had to follow a seven step process which involved setting up an Eco-Committee and carrying out an Environmental Review.
Children were involved in designing eco projects such as recycling pens, creating bug hotels and bee-friendly gardens, as well as recommending to teachers to change from disposable paper towels to hand driers.
Headteacher, Natalie Aldridge, said: “I am extremely proud of the effort and commitment the children at South Wilford have made in supporting our eco-journey. They have taken the time to really understand why the changes are important and ensured that what they do will be sustainable in the years to come. They planned everything carefully and set targets for themselves, ensuring that what they wanted to happen actually happened. They are true leaders!
“Being awarded the Green Flag with distinction is testament to their curiosity, love, respect and bravery which are all our school values'. Now we will work really hard to drive our eco-journey forward even further and we are excited to see where we can go in the future.”
Other eco projects carried out included pond clearing, litter picks, writing to MPs and improving the wildlife area. The school also has a small farm area which they say has become a great over the last few months.
At the end of the Eco Schools programme, the Eco-Schools team emailed the school stating: “Your hard work and dedication have clearly inspired young people and empowered them with the belief that they can positively impact our planet - this is something incredibly special. We have loved reading about your journey this year and have been impressed by how your Eco-Schools work has united pupils, staff, families and the wider community to bringing about so much positive and impactful action. It gives us great pleasure to award you an Eco-Schools Green Flag with Distinction - congratulations!"
The Church of England is committed to caring for God’s creation and has set an ambitious target to achieve net zero carbon emissions in all of its buildings - including Church of England schools - by 2030.
Find out more about the net zero carbon work in schools.