We’ve done it! We have completed our application for the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award. Now we just need to wait to see if we are successful!
This prestigious international award is recognised by organisations such as UNESCO. It is a symbol of our commitment to environmental education and acknowledges, rewards, and celebrates the ecological achievements of our young people. It helps us to create the next generation of innovative, inspirational environmentalists and tells our local community that Hill House is forward-thinking and actively engaged in protecting our ONE PLANET.
As part of our application, we chose to focus on three Eco Topics, ‘Biodiversity’, ‘Global Citizenship’ and ‘Healthy Living’ and below are only a few examples of some of the work we undertook to gather evidence in these areas included:
- Members of our Eco Committee completed an Environmental Review of the school, looking at the different ways we were already working to increase biodiversity, expand on our fundraising activities, and encourage a healthy lifestyle through physical exercise and a plant-based diet.
- ” Farm in a Box” brought the farm into the classroom. As a hands-on learning programme, it builds connections between farming, the food we eat and climate change. Our box included activities on farm animals, different ways to observe the weather, and exploring the impact of climate change on the planet.
- Back in January, we participated in the RSPB Big School Birdwatch. All of our young people were out and about looking for birds of all kinds to complete the survey as well as enjoying a day full of educational birdwatching activities.
- “Nature” was the theme for this year’s World Book Day and we combined reading about nature with exploring the outdoors though the senses. We set up an outdoor reading zone in our woodland area with a wide choice of nature-themed books, creating a story corner made from logs, branches and leaves. Our young people explored a sensory story learning about the journey of a seed to a tree and we also created an Eco-Library Corner!
- For our first Recycling Day, everyone was encouraged to collect cardboard, clothing, metal cans, plastic, and flower and vegetable seeds for a day of fun activities.
- During World Autism Acceptance Week, we set a goal of walking 60km for our Super 60 Challenge. Our staff and young people ended up walking 250km and raised over £3000 to support the people of Ukraine!
