It seems like only yesterday that reusing your old jam jars was enough to give you eco-credentials. Not any more. From the kind of lightbulb you choose to the amount of water you use, every aspect of life is being looked at through green lenses.
What’s more, with the publication of new research demonstrating the link between human activities and climate change, there have been increasingly urgent calls for nations around the world to clean up their act. It’s timely, then, that the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has declared 2007 to be a ‘Year of Action’ on sustainable development for schools.
Creating a sustainable environment means looking at a range of ethical issues, from pesticides on food to pollution, from transport to waste in the wider community. As the DfES’ Sustainable Development Action Plan explains, “sustainable development principles should lie at the core of the education system, so that schools become showcases of sustainable development among the communities they serve”.
Meanwhile, schemes such as the Eco-Schools Initiative, designed to encourage whole-school action for the environment, offer resources and support. But the good news is that building strong international school partnerships can also play a key role in helping young learners understand that what they do in their day-to-day lives has huge implications for everyone in this country and the world at large.
John Gambles is deputy head of Ysgol Dinas Bran, a secondary school near Llangollen in Wales. The school is currently in the third year of a Comenius joint curriculum project on sustainable international economic growth and the environment, with partner schools in France, Germany, Hungary and Spain. “This is the second Comenius project we’ve undertaken on an environmental theme,” John explains. “It’s had a really positive impact, helping pupils understand how taking responsibility for the environment affects all of us, wherever you live.”
The project has been driven by a network of ten teachers from the schools involved, who have all undertaken exchange visits to each other’s countries. “Recycling has, of course, been a major focus,” says John. “Staff have visited landfill sites in Germany and plastic recycling schemes in Hungary, to name but a few – and taken ideas for activities back home. Here, a paper recycling facility has been installed and every class uses it. Progress reports are posted on our online newspaper, a great forum for sharing good practice.”
The project’s emphasis on sustainability means that the school has worked hard to make sure it has an impact on the local community as well with pupils, parents and staff setting up an ‘Eco Action’ group.
John is encouraged by the fact that pupils feel strongly about the issues involved. “Heightened interest in the environment in the media means youngsters today are very aware that these are global issues. And there are so many avenues now for children to get involved. For example, we’re taking part in the Eco-Schools programme and already have the Bronze Award. Now we’re aiming for the highest award level – the Green Flag – in 2008. All our efforts have been hugely reinforced by our Comenius work.”
But how do you ensure that an awareness of sustainability and its surrounding themes will endure beyond the life of your particular project? The key, says headteacher Brian Wilkins of the Ellon Academy in Aberdeenshire, is to capture students’ imaginations. “Young people today are far more knowledgeable about the threat of global warming than they were ten years ago,” he says. “That already makes it easier to generate enthusiasm for projects of this nature.”
The Ellon Academy is now in the third and final year of a Comenius joint curriculum project with school partners based in the Azores and Lithuania. “Contact with our partner schools has really driven home the message that protecting the environment is a common goal" Brian explains. For example, our students were fascinated to learn that until 1986 the Azores were involved in whaling. Now, they’re encouraging tourists to come and watch whales – so they’ve turned an environmental threat into a positive opportunity. It’s an exciting example of sustainability and one that really caught students’ imaginations.”
The project has also encompassed several areas of the curriculum. In one, the art departments of the three schools are planning to publish a book of images inspired by the coastlines close to the schools.
Using international activities to build an awareness of the environment translates well across all types of schools. St Joan of Arc Secondary School in Glasgow is a special school taking part in a two-year East-West UK-Ireland school partnership project with St Bernadette’s Special School in Letterkenny, County Donegal. “Both schools have made a particular commitment to environmental issues, and both are involved with the Eco-Schools initiative here in Scotland,” explains headteacher Marie Inglis. “So we wanted to provide opportunities for pupils to work together on projects relevant to this and promote a mutual understanding of shared cultural issues.”
Subsequently, on an exchange visit to Ireland, pupils worked jointly to build a similar greenhouse at St Bernadette’s.
Let’s not forget staff development, too. Peter Faulkner, the art teacher at St Joan of Arc’s, undertook a shadowing visit to Ireland during the project’s second year, where he helped create a large mural in the dining hall at St Bernadette’s on an anti-whaling theme. “The mural was created, with pupil input, with fish shapes cut from discarded advertising handouts and posters in tune with St Bernadette’s policy of maintaining a constant awareness of recycling and eco-concerns,” says Peter. “It was a great opportunity to work in a completely new environment, and learn from and exchange ideas with a completely new set of colleagues. I brought back a new perspective on eco-art and a good deal of inspiration!”
Melissa de Villiers is an independent educational journalist
DfES Sustainable Schools Initiative, www.teachernet.gov.uk/sustainableschools
Comenius, www.britishcouncil.org/comenius
The East-West programme, www.britishcouncil.org/schoolpartnerships-ireland.htm
Eco-Schools Programme, www.eco-schools.org.uk
Eco-Schools Initiative in Scotland, www.ecoschoolsscotland.org.uk
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