I've just spent a fascinating and rewarding year working with 7-9 year-olds at my local Primary School in Winterbourne, Elm Park, and would warmly recommend the experience to anyone who wants to restore their faith in the ability of our youngsters to tackle the environmental problems of the future. There are many ways for Schools to get involved in tackling green issues, but Elm Park chose to work within the Eco-Schools framework developed by a Charity called Encams, and designed to promote environmental awareness in a way that links to many curriculum subjects. If you want to find out more, visit www.eco-schools.org.uk, or ring 01942 612621.

An Eco-Committee was established at the beginning of the Autumn Term, with a dozen or so pupils, two staff members, including the Head Teacher, and one parent representative, me! We met weekly, during the lunch hour, and the first thing we did was to conduct a fairly cursory energy audit of the School, on the basis of which we developed an Action Plan for the whole of the school year, divided into 5 policy areas; Saving Energy, Reducing Litter, Recycling, Biodiversity and Healthy Living.

Now, 18 months later, I can report that the Eco-Committee had a very successful first year. Virtually all the five main policy aims were achieved and nearly all the specific actions, leading to the award to the School in February 2006 of the Eco-Schools Silver Award. The Committee's success was due mainly to the energy and enthusiasm of its pupil members, whose bright ideas kept the adults going! Notable examples included some brilliant energy-saving posters designed and produced (on the computers) by the pupils themselves, and a successful campaign to reduce the number of individual Christmas cards sent within the School. In the Healthy Living area, the School has introduced a number of strategies to reduce the consumption of junk food on school premises, and to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables.

Moreover, the Committee exceeded its original plans in a number of areas. For example, under aim three, to increase the amount of waste the School recycles, all actions were completed, and the Committee went further by researching composting methods and improving the performance of the School compost bins. All are now functioning well and should produce valuable compost soon for the School to use. In addition, the Committee helped the kitchen staff to begin recycling cans and tinfoil.

The Eco-Committee also took the lead in raising funds for some of the more daunting projects, such as the pond, more than paid for by the magnificent sum of £1400 raised by the sponsored walk by all pupils in the School. When the weather improves, the School will complete the project by installing the liner, after which the decking can be put in place and appropriate plants selected. It can then look for further targets to achieve to ensure that Elm Park becomes an even more environmentally-friendly school in the future.

If this brief account of one School's experience inspires you as much as it did me, then why not contact your own School and see if they are doing anything similar. And remember that FOE has a wealth of excellent resources to help you, including the annual 'Shout About' programmes designed for Secondary Schools, and the range of materials at www.community.foe.co.uk/youth, some of which relate specifically to our major campaign on Climate Change.

Tony Harding

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