As the number of humans on our planet continues to increase, the resources available become ever scarcer. The need to reduce, re-use and recycle the waste we produce has never been so urgent – and our schools are coming up with some great ideas for doing just that.
King’s Meadow Primary School in East Lothian have instigated a whole-school composting campaign. Each class has its own ‘mini-bin’, into which all pupils put their compostable waste, and the staffroom and school kitchen do the same. These mini-bins are emptied into larger bins in the school grounds, and the compost has been used to grow vegetables in the school garden. A P7 class held a competition to design a composting information leaflet as part of their Language work, and the winning design was printed and sent home with every pupil to share with their parents. The leaflet is also displayed in the recycling area of each classroom.
Dunino Primary School in Fife was awarded Permanent Eco-Schools status in 2004, and was one of the first Scottish Eco-Schools to construct a greenhouse from 2-litre plastic juice bottles. Pupils were involved in the collection and preparation of the bottles, and parents helped with the construction of the wooden frame. The school has grown a wide variety of vegetables in the greenhouse – and made it even more productive by sealing out the draughts with large quantities of salvaged bubble-wrap!
Port Ellen Primary School on Islay decided to brighten up their external school walls and asked a local artist to help them design a mural – using salvaged plastic bottle tops. Pupils worked with the artist on the initial design, and were then responsible for creating the mural itself. The design depicts local scenery and provides a wonderful welcome to the school.
Balmullo Primary School in Fife decided to take a different approach to the issue of excessive paper usage – and held a competition to see which class could make a pack of paper last the longest. Even the staff took part, with one teacher creating a reusable memo pad by simply laminating a single sheet.
Elie Primary School in Fife have been doing lots of work to promote the ‘Re-Use’ message. Some of their ideas include hanging baskets made from old tyres, an eco craft sale – with most of the products on display made from salvaged materials - and a woodland pathway made from sections of old logs.
Pupils in the Technical and Art departments at Shawlands Academy in Glasgow City worked together to make a sculpture from scrap metal. The sculpture is on display in the school’s entrance foyer and depicts Shawlands’ partner countries in their COMENIUS work.
The Eco Committee at New Stevenston Primary School in North Lanarkshire set their pupils a challenge – to bring a waste-free packed lunch to school. Many pupils took part – with banana peel and apple cores often the only remaining items...all of which were then duly composted. The committee measured the amount of waste produced, and hope to repeat the exercise to see if any improvements have been made.
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