London primary’s whole-school approach to sustainability

The Hammersmith school’s efforts were recently recognised with a prestigious Green Flag in the Eco-Schools Awards and has received a United Nations eduCCate bronze certificate for training staff on sustainability issues.

Currently, six staff members have qualified as climate change and sustainability teachers, and the rest of the school workforce are about to begin the online training.

One of the support group members of the educate team talked about the courses he did: “I found human health interesting, understanding about how flooding and disease are affected by climate. I also did sustainable diet: how we are wasting far too much food.”

Another teacher who delivered training to all staff said: “I have found out so many new facts that I did not know about climate change which are shocking, making me feel committed to my role now.”

A training participant added: “I found it helpful because it is useful to know how to talk to children about climate change in a language they understand. I found the resources and ideas shared inspired me to talk to the children about how our world is changing.”

Also, since 2019, two children in each year group have been a member of the eco-committee, creating an action plan and ensuring the actions are fulfilled within the classrooms.

Practical measures introduced include monitoring paper use and ensuring paper is recycled correctly in classrooms, holding “paper-free days” and using compost bins to generate fertiliser for the garden.

It has also introduced measures to reduce energy consumption such as “no screen days”, ensuring lights are turned off and working with Hammersmith and Fulham Council to move energy supplier to one that uses renewables.

For its marine topic, the eco-committee has focused on banning single-use plastics at school and taken part in a litter pick to prevent plastics ending up in the River Thames, while staff educate about the effect of global warming on sea temperatures, rising water levels, death of coral and over-fishing.

Children, parents and staff have taken part in two Carbon Footprint Buster Challenges, such as becoming “Flexitarians” and switching to green/sustainable energy suppliers. A child in year three said: “I saved the environment by using less energy, playing in the garden a lot and having a good time with my family.” A year five child added: “I helped by not having as much meat on the plate and more vegetables. I had more stuff from the salad bar because that is actually yummy.”

The school has sponsorship from a local estate agent for 250 metal water bottles with the school’s logo to sell with support from its Parent-Staff Association with the aim of every person bringing in only reusable water bottles and ban single-use plastics.

One of Brackenbury’s specialist “catch up” teachers Isabel Czyba has been an active member of the UN Climate Champions network group, sharing best practice and taking inspiration from others.

Czyba said: “Our pupils are proud about the award. We know change begins with children and that’s why it’s so important to educate and excite them. They’re the ones who can affect the future.”

Brackenbury has been a part of the Hammersmith and Fulham goal of being the greenest borough in the country.


EXPERT VIEW
SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION CAN BOOST ENGAGEMENT IN LEARNING AND SOCIAL ACTION

By Michael Wilkinson, UK managing director of ClickView

Sustainability education can be used as a tool with which to engage students in their learning and the world around them. One way to achieve this is to explore a variety of green activists and discuss their mark on the green movement in relation to a variety of topics and subjects.

For example, discussing the work of Scottish climate justice activist Dylan Hamilton, who at just 17 has spent six years campaigning for green policies, can help bring politics to life. After he helped organise a climate strike in September, the Scottish Parliament debated climate change legislation, after which it agreed to increase their emission reduction target by five per cent.

Similarly, young people can enjoy economics and mathematics by exploring the work of environmental activist John Paul Jose from India, who argues sustainability policies are benefiting the “socio-economic security” of everyday people. He explores the impact of extreme weather conditions on the economy and how an explosion of green jobs may impact the skills market globally.

Young people are leading the sustainability movement. They have created new groups such as Extinction Rebellion and have protested in support of green government policies and actions taken by large corporations.

Discussing this rise in youth activism with children can encourage them to consider the action they can take in their community to secure positive change, as they will be inspired by others.

Sustainability education is about so much more than classroom learning. It involves activism, critical thinking and application to real life. For example, students may choose to apply their learning by leading on internal school green policies, like recycling, reducing internal use of paper or digitising newsletters. From this experience, they’ll find learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom – instead, it is an everyday part of life and is practical too.

• ClickView is a provider of video teaching resources for schools

Read more in CYP Now's special report on sustainable services