Eco Schools

The children at The Southwater Infant Academy have been very busy working as ‘Eco-Heroes’ to help save our planet! We are very proud to announce that with the help of Mrs Dilling, Mr. Mortley, Mrs Jones, Mrs Gray and the rest of the Eco-Team, the children have achieved their Green Flag Award for the fourth time in a row! Eco-Schools is a global initiative designed to empower children to drive change and improve their environmental awareness. The eco-schools initiative develops children’s understanding of the challenges associated with Energy, Water, Biodiversity, School grounds, Healthy Living, Transport, Litter, Waste and Global citizenship.

The children will now begin to work on tidying and developing the school gardens ready for spring. If you would be interested in helping to prepare the gardens for the children with some digging, weeding and pruning, please contact The Academy office on (01403) 733254 or office@southwaterinfants.co.uk

To develop our children’s knowledge of sustainability we have looked at 9 key areas associated with being ‘eco-friendly. These are:

Water: Reducing wastage.
Waste: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Litter: Promoting anti-litter campaigns.
Energy: Reducing wastage and renewable energy sources.
School Grounds: Ensuring our grounds are sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Biodiversity: Preserving and protecting our planets many diverse habitats.
Healthy Living: Promoting a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.
Transport: Promoting our Travel Plan.
Global Perspectives: Working with schools across Europe to promote sustainability for our whole world.

Our eco-team meets regularly to discuss current projects and priority for development across our academy and community. Our eco team consists of:

Teachers
Children
Parents
Trustees
Our Premises Officer

Please see our Eco Action Plan below:

Eco Action Plan

Target	Proposed Action
1. To design and construct a sensory garden providing individual and combined sensory opportunities for our children and visitors that they may not normally experience.	To work with the school council and eco-team to ensure the whole school community are involved in teh design of the garden. Work with Southwater Horticultural Society to establish, develop and manage our sensory garden area.
2. To refurbish our academy allotment patches ensuring a greater yield of crops, creating a more significant 'Grow it, Cook it, Eat it' experience for the children.	Work with local volunteers and Southwater Horticultural Society to further enrich our existing allotment area.
3. To further develop children's understanding of their responsibility as Global Citizens towards biodiversity.	Children in Year 2 to develop links with schools in Europe, to work on a 'Nature Preservation' project together.

Target

Proposed Action

1. To design and construct a sensory garden providing individual and combined sensory opportunities for our children and visitors that they may not normally experience.

To work with the school council and eco-team to ensure the whole school community are involved in teh design of the garden.

Work with Southwater Horticultural Society to establish, develop and manage our sensory garden area.

2. To refurbish our academy allotment patches ensuring a greater yield of crops, creating a more significant 'Grow it, Cook it, Eat it' experience for the children.

Work with local volunteers and Southwater Horticultural Society to further enrich our existing allotment area.

3. To further develop children's understanding of their responsibility as Global Citizens towards biodiversity.

Children in Year 2 to develop links with schools in Europe, to work on a 'Nature Preservation' project together.

If anyone in our local community is interested in learning more about Our Green Flag Status or has specific connections with any of our 9 key areas mentioned above we would be delighted to hear from you.

Southwater Eco Action Plan
pdf