In the Uk there are many initiatives to become more ECO friendly, from trying to use less paper to turning off the lights and larger projects such as using solar power where possible.
Back in February, the student government of Florida in America, voted to pass a “green new deal” These are rules to tackle climate change and were suggested by the Youth Action Fund, a group that supports climate change activists.
Under this new deal, one of the aims was to reduce how much greenhouse gas is released from the campus grounds. Greenhouse gases trap the Suns heat in the earths atmosphere, causing climate change. Solutions include reducing the use of cars on campus and making sure the University does not accept money from companies that produce fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas.
Many other Universities in the US, including ones in New York and California have introduced similar measures and there have been calls for more Florida Universities to follow suit. The deal is important because the current Governor of Florida , Ron DeSantis, has said he wants the US to pull out of international agreements to fight climate change!
What is your school doing to go green?
- It has to start from the beginning – encourage good habits however small, like walking to school, (last week was walk to school week) picking up litter or recycling
- Does your school compost? If you don’t have a school garden you can still create compost and donate to local allotments – or take it home!
- Use recycled items, such as paper and plastic – there are so many products out there now
- Cut out single use plastic items – does your school provide water? Use reusable water bottles, lunch boxes and sandwich wraps
- Start an ECO club to raise awareness – encourage teachers to include raising awareness across the curriculum – geography – where does our waste go? Science – so many ideas Art/DT – make bird feeders Cookery – carbon footprint of ingredients…
- Place recycling bins in every classroom – so simple but effective
- Recycle batteries
- Use LED lights
- Use energy efficient appliances
- Do you have a school uniform shop where people donate outgrown but still in excellent condition items? If not why not?
Make it official!
Get your school to sign up to the Green Schools Project and work toward becoming a zero carbon school. They work with schools to transform the way they respond to the climate and nature crisis, Helping students to lead projects, delivering teacher training sessions, and supporting schools to reduce their carbon emissions with a focus on the learning opportunities.
Have you ever heard of SOS – Students Organising for Sustainability? They have their 10th annual summit on Wednesday 29th May 2024 at Leicester University. Returning for its 10th year, the Student Sustainability Summit brings people passionate about sustainability, nature and climate justice together for workshops, talks and panel discussions with some of the UK’s top environmental and social justice activists from youth campaigns, students’ unions and environmental organisations. I’d encourage you to check out their website!
Even the Department of Education has a strategy for sustainability in schools and children’s services.
So go ahead, be part of the solution, not the problem!