Eco-Schools is an international award programme that guides schools and early learning and childcare centres on their sustainable journey. Schools/Cetnres work towards gaining three awards: Bronze, Silver and the prestigious Green Flag award, which symbolises excellence in the field of environmental activity. Hazeldene Family Centre have achieved five Green flags and we are now working towards our sixth.
Team Team Hazeldene!
Make our school ECO Green
Pick up litter everywhere
Save Our Planet because we care!
Each year the children vote to choose representatives for the Eco Committee. They are responsible for leading termly committee meetings, supported by staff. We are very grateful for any parents and community members who are able to help in any way.
The Eco Group carry out an environmental review and identify areas to focus on for our next Green Flag. They share the plans with the rest of the children and together we work towards achieving the targets. All of the children and staff in the Family Centre are involved as this is a major part of our curriculum.
As part of our Eco learning, we are involved in many exciting projects including:
- Recycling batteries
- Rag Bag Textile Recycling
- Growing fruit and vegetables
- Observing and looking after wildlife
- Keep Scotland Beautiful
- Fair Trade
Here are some of the things we are learning as we work towards our next Green Flag:
- Learning about different parts of plants, what they need to grow and how to care for them.
- Using books and the internet to find out about nature and different environmental issues.
- Developing our physical and design skills as we make items for the garden to help nature, such as bird feeders and bug hotels.
- Learning about the effects of waste on our environment. Find out about what we can do to reduce waste, including recycling and reducing the use of plastics.
- Learning about sorting for different criteria as we help to recycle materials.
- Developing our counting skills as we record how much litter is collected or how many bags of clothing we are recycling. Investigating different ways to record this using charts/pictures/tally marks.
- Taking turns to monitor the use of electricity and water to reduce waste. Talking about why it is important to conserve these.
- Learning about voting to choose Eco Committee members.
- Taking part in meetings to talk about environmental issues. Learn when to talk and when to listen to each other.
- Taking turns to record the meetings by drawing/writing/making marks.
- Talking with other children in the wider group to share what has been discussed at the Eco Committee meeting and agreeing what we will focus on next.
A copy of our submission for the current Green Flag is included below:
