Phew, it’s been a long time since we last updated! This is partly due to technical issues with our blog – our fault, sorry. For those of you who have been waiting with baited breath for our latest news, here’s what we achieved later on in 2013:
We have had a very successful session so far in the Eco Team, welcoming many new members and running assemblies to let the whole school know about our Eco-Schools events this year. At the start of the session, our Eco Committee met to discuss updating our Eco Code. As PHS has been flying its Green Flag since 2002, our Eco Code has included all the topics and become quite long! To make it more memorable, it was divided into three main themes: ‘healthy living’, ‘saving not wasting’ and ‘global awareness’. Our trusty friends in Graphic Communication set a poster competition for their S3s to design new posters to display the simplified code, and the winners received Amazon vouchers. The winning four designs (see below) have been copied and one of each of the posters displayed on each floor of the school. Thank you Graphic Communication!
We have also organised and celebrated our Eco Day of the 2013/14 session, on 4 October. This year, as we’d been struggling to meet the targets we set for the Energy topic, we decided to set the theme of the day as energy. Eco Team members led assemblies during the week of Eco Day, explaining the effects our energy use has on other countries, especially in the developing world (see below a slide from our presentation).
On Eco Day, pupils brought a donation to school and dressed in green or as their favourite animal to show support. Funds raised – £608.70 – went to National Energy Action, a charity that deals with fuel poverty in the UK and promotes energy efficiency. To show their support, many teachers signed an energy pledge, opting not to use energy in their lessons for a period, or in some cases, a whole school day. Many pupils were surprised to hear that fuel poverty is a problem in a developed country like the UK. Teachers also wore stickers designed by the Eco Team (see below Eco team members with their designs). Details of our efforts have since been published in the NEA newsletter! Portobello’s previous energy saving efforts will also soon be published in an Edinburgh Council energy saving case study document, to be made available to schools later this year.
On October 29 we had the first of our 3 Car Free/Share Days. We have a large number of staff who use public transport each day, and many who are willing to car share when possible, but we are continuing to work on this hurdle! We also had a recycling campaign involving an ink cartridge ‘recycling action term’, sending a large number of ink and toner cartridges to Recycling Appeal and raising funds for CHAS in the process (amount to be confirmed).
We have also been working in our biodiversity garden and tidying it up after the summer. Although the thistles had somewhat taken over, the moths will have been happy with that, and there were also thriving buddleia, honeysuckle and wild flowers to attract insects. This winter we hope to start feeding small birds in preparation for the RSPB Big Schools’ Bird Count in February.
What next? Well, our Recycling Action Terms continue with textiles this term. We met with Chris Speed and Siobhan Magee from Edinburgh University last term about their research into clothing recycling and plan to do a joint project together by March. Then it’ll be no time until April/May and the now annual National Spring Clean litter pick! But first, we’re working on our application for a 6th Green Flag award. We’d welcome any tips on what to do or questions on how we’ve organised our activities. Our senior Eco Team members also plan to start posting ‘Eco Bites’ on the blog, outlining what they feel are the biggest environmental issues today.
All the best for an environmentally friendly 2014!
