We received some very exciting new during the holidays – Eco Schools Scotland confirmed that we have attained ANOTHER Green Flag Award!! The boys and girls in the school, particularly those in the Eco Committee who have been the driving force behind a lot of the plans and activities, have worked incredibly hard over the last 2 years to try and achieve this. Waaaay back in September 2018 we created our action plan focusing on the topics of Litter, Global Citizenship and School Grounds. Over the last 2 years we have completed a variety of Eco-friendly activities, including: a bring-and-buy sale where the money raised was donated to the Australian bush fire WWF Koala Protectors charity; a village litter pick; creating a willow-dome; planting tomato seeds; and purchasing gardening equipment with the money kindly donated from the Community Council.
Although we weren’t able to complete everything on our action plan due to the pesky Covid-19 virus, we gave it our best shot and Eco Schools Scotland were happy that we have demonstrated that our pupils are responsible citizens and have learned lots about environmental issues.
Our assessor sent a detailed letter to confirm our achievement and stated: “Congratulations Portpatrick Primary on successfully renewing your Green Flag Award! The work carried out during these past years has been extraordinary and it has been a real pleasure to assess your application… Your excellent Eco Committee are doing a brilliant job inspiring, engaging and informing the entire school community in a very effective way.” He also went on to say that aspects of our work were noted as being examples of good practice and that we may feature on their website or as case studies on social media to support other schools with their Eco Schools work.
A big thanks also needs to go to Sian Roberts, who has sat as the parent rep on the Eco Committee for the past 2 years. Sian has attended all of the meetings with the pupils and Mrs McHarg, and has very generously given up her own time to aid with our Eco activities in school, such as creating the willow dome and sourcing and planting trees with the pupils.
Well done to everyone involved – have a look below at the photo of some very happy faces with their Green Flag!
