Eco Committee | Firpark Secondary School

Firpark Secondary School Eco-Schools Project

Our Eco-Schools Committee

Each year, one pupil from every class is elected as a member of the committee. Pupils who wish to become members nominate themselves and prepare a short statement on why the rest of the class should vote for them. Voting takes place by secret ballot and the results are presented to the whole school during an assembly. The committee meets at least once a term. During Eco-Schools meetings, the pupils give their ideas on different issues, such as, Litter, Recycling, School Grounds, Health and Well Being, Food and the Environment.

Latest News

All new News Posts can now be found on our school app.

Fairtrade/Eco Day 9th March 2018

All pupils enjoyed taking part in our Fairtrade/Eco Day. The theme of the day was sustainability and we had a visit from Sam from Amazonia, who brought along a number of animals for us to see and touch. She had snakes, cockroaches, stick insects and a bearded dragon. They were fascinating and we learned about taking care of the creatures we share this planet with.

Pupils also enjoyed Fairtrade baking and drinks at our Fairtrade Cafe. Mr Morley, our Headteacher, volunteered to have a sponsored haircut and pupils paid 50p to have a snip at his hair. Well done and thanks, Mr Morley. The Cafe raised £125 and the Sponsored Haircut raised £35 which will be sent off to Fairtrade to benefit some of the poorer communities in the world to help with sustainable farming practices.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Waste Week March 2017

Our Waste Week, sponsored by The Pod, an educational website run by EDF Energy, started off on Monday 27th of March with a whole school assembly presented by the Eco Schools Committee. This was a busy week with whole school activities to raise awareness about many issues with waste. Classes carried out a waste week quiz; Eco Committee Members monitored waste disposal in the dinner hall/playground; pupils introduced a ‘REUSE’ waste trolley and staff held a Swish Swap to clear out waste at home.

Many departments carried out a wide range of activities as follows:

Music Department made Plastic Bottle Shakers
Computing carried out an interactive game from The Pod website
Modern Languages on Le Recyclage
English and Technology made a Waste Week Wordle
Maths worked on Waste Information Surveys and Charts
Science produced a Garden Log Pile
Home Economics made ‘No Waste’ Pizza
Drama made Scenery and Props from recycled materials

Green Flag Award

The school has received another Green Flag Award from Eco-Schools Scotland. We have been an Eco-School for 11 years and this is our sixth award. Here are a few members of our new Eco-Schools Committee displaying the new flag.

Our Recent Projects

Litter

We have an anti-litter policy. Eco members monitor litter in the playground/school grounds and whole school rotas have ensured that every class has taken part in our litter campaign. Science and Computing classes have worked together to produce ‘Eco’ Anti-Litter Comics.

Recycling

Our recycling process has been improved to include plastic bottles, cans, cartons and batteries as well as cardboard, paper and plastic. Many pupils have visited the local recycling centres. Staff have re-used blutac, polypockets, envelopes, carrier bags and bubble wrap. Technology classes have used re-used materials to create photo frames, bird feeders, a tree bench and garden planters while RE classes have reduced waste through the Christian Aid Jumble Sale, Backpacks Campaign and donations for Lanarkshire Basics Food Bank visit. Check out the Technology Garden Pallet and Planter project on the website.

The composting system has increased capacity to 5 bins. Pupils and staff have separated, weighed and recorded vegetable waste for composting. Maths classes calculated our carbon savings from composting as 0.2 tonnes CO₂e a year.

Food and the Environment

Our home grown fruit and vegetables are widely used in Home Economics and Hospitality.

As part of our Food and the Environment project we weighed food produce grown in the school for food preparation. The Maths Department calculated our Carbon Emission Savings for this as 0.5 tonnes CO₂e a year. Rural Skills classes participated by propagating, planting, preparing and maintaining the gardens. Science classes planted potatoes. We also held a ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ Parent Workshop and prepared ‘Be Good with Food’ Leaflets to raise awareness of this issue.

Our Eco-Schools Rap

At Firpark we’re Eco aware

We look after things because we care

Our classes, our school, our town, our planet

We need to protect from what can harm it

Next Steps

Our work on litter is on-going and for the next two years we will also be focusing on the School Grounds and Health and Well Being.

Comments about our Eco-Schools Project

Eco-Schools Committee Members:

Dylan: “I want to thank the Climate Challenge Group at Keep Scotland Beautiful for the opportunity to improve our school gardens.”

Nicholas: “Our Eco-Schools project makes a huge difference. Next year, we should have a ‘transition’ stage to hand over the job to the new committee and to give staff and pupils reminders about Eco Schools programs so that we can involve more people.”

Mrs Young: “I have been involved with the Eco Schools Committee for many years. Every project that has been undertaken has been very successful and it gets better every year.”

Staff:

Mrs Ireland:“Firpark students and staff build in Eco awareness into all subjects, like in Rural Skills and Home Economics, where students learn about farm to fork or up-cycling/recycling products in Technology or in ICT where students are encouraged to only print when necessary.”

Mrs Park: “The Eco Schools Committee are very enthusiastic and they have great ideas for making improvements on how we are currently operating. Their enthusiasm reflects the fact that the project has a long lasting impact on the school.”

Mr Morley: “Our Eco Schools project has been very successful. We have continued to build on the excellent achievements we made through funding from the Climate Challenge Fund. This has enabled us to extend our capacity for home grown fruit and vegetables and consequently more pupils now benefit by developing their vocational skills in subjects including, Rural Studies, Home Economics and Hospitality.”