Climate Action – Sustainability Plan
Sustainability and ecology are vitally important; in business, at home and in our children’s education. Here at Mill Lane Primary School, we pride ourselves on our forward-thinking approach to environmentally driven education and community engagement. The journey to that goal of sustainability begins with educating our students in a nurturing and sustainable environment and one that is both engaging and enjoyable.
Eco Warriors
At Mill Lane Primary School, we democratically elect Eco Warriors to represent each class. Our Eco Warriors meet regularly and complete an environmental review to assess what topics we may need to work on as a school. We encourage our Eco Warriors to take pride in their role and encourage our Eco Warriors to build on leadership skills by taking part in different Eco activities and events throughout the year.
In the past, we have taken part in a variety of different activities and events. Some of the activities / events we have taken part in are:
- Recycle, reuse, reduce
- Litter Picking
- Energy Monitors
- Earth Day
- RSPB’s Bird Watch
.. and many more!
Check out the latest Eco-Schools newsletters and information here:
Meet our Eco Warriors…
What is Climate Change?
The dictionary definition is:
A change in global or regional acclimate patterns , in particular a change apparent from mod to late 20th Century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produce they the use of fossil fuels.
There are many factors that can make the Earth warmer and colder including:
- greenhouse gases caused by human activity,
- deforestation, where more than half of the world’s surface has been ploughed and paved,
- ozone layer trapping heat closer to the Earth’s surface
- different types of air pollution which have different effects on the atmosphere.
The challenge of climate change is formidable. For children and young people to meet it with determination, and not with despair, we must offer them not just truth, but also hope. Learners need to know the truth about climate change – through knowledge-rich education. They must also be given the hope that they can be agents of change, through hands-on activity and, as they progress, through guidance and programmes allowing them to pursue a green career pathway in their chosen field (DFE 2023).
What can we do?
The DFE has called on all education sectors to create a sustainability climate action plan to show how we, as a school community, can support national and international initiatives which are aimed at protecting the world through direct climate action. As a school, we have important role to play in this, particularly reducing our environmental footprint to work towards net zero and giving all children, young people and adults the knowledge and skills to thrive in the green economy and to help restore nature.
Through our sustainability climate action plan, we will engage directly with children and young people who are passionate about the natural world, want to do their best to protect it and can influence their wider communities.
Through their learned and lived experiences from our Early Years Foundation Stage to Year 6, our children will develop a broad knowledge and understanding of the importance of nature, sustainability and the causes and impact of climate change and to translate this knowledge into positive action and solutions.
Using the four areas identified in the DFE’s Sustainability and climate change strategy, our sustainability and climate action plan will focus on the following 4 key pillars:
- adaptation and resilience: how our setting is preparing for and responding to the impacts of climate change
- biodiversity and nature: efforts to protect and enhance nature and wildlife within our setting and its surroundings
- climate education and green skills: how learners are supported to understand climate change, sustainability, and develop relevant skills
- decarbonisation and net zero: actions to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, working towards net zero
Our Climate Action Plan can be found here:
COMING SOON…
Creating an environment from an early age where we can connect to nature is essential for self-enforcement in protecting and valuing nature’. Ensuring our children will:
- spend time in nature and learn more about it
- become actively involved in the improvement of their local environment
- know that regular contact with green spaces can have a beneficial impact on their physical and mental health.
Climate adaptation and decarbonisation activities can provide powerful learning opportunities. Ensuring, our children will:
- find out more about the impact of energy and water use
- participate in the implementation of climate adaptation measures
- learn in buildings designed for net zero
- See sustainability brought to life in the buildings around them, allowing them to gain experiences which will enhance and contextualise their learning.
- increase the confidence and expertise of our leadership team, staff, learners, and students in understanding climate change and how positive change can be achieved
- create a culture that prioritises sustainability
- share effective practice with other education settings and develop a peer-to-peer learning network
- use data to identify and prioritise action
- improve energy and water efficiency
- calculate our carbon emissions and identify ways to reduce them
- reduce operating costs
- increase resilience and start adapting to the impacts of climate change
- enhance biodiversity
- help learners develop skills and knowledge which help them to contribute to sustainability and climate change in their lives and future jobs
- bring together related actions and plans
Useful website links:
Sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education – GOV.UK