Project ECO (Environmental Challenge Organisation) are this year’s new eco-leaders and will be working towards gaining a green flag for Bushey Meads School. The initiative is through eco-schools and is entirely student based.

The Eco-Schools programme is designed to empower students, raise environmental awareness, improve the school environment and lead to financial savings for schools. The most important thing about the Eco-Schools programme is it is something the students in our school will remember for life.

One of the programme’s aims is to spread its ecological message beyond the school walls and into the wider school community. In this regard, we feel it is important to inform and work with the school community in order to achieve our international Green Flag award. If you would like to provide support for the programme by becoming a member of our school Eco-Committee or simply sharing advice on any environmental project ideas we would hugely appreciate your involvement.

To achieve the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award involves following a seven-step framework: forming an Eco-Committee, carrying out an Environmental Review, creating an Action Plan, linking environmental work to the curriculum, Informing and Involving the school and wider community about progress made, monitoring and evaluating ecological changes to the school and finally producing an Eco-Code for the whole school. There are ten topics that we can work on as evidence towards their Green Flag and these are Biodiversity, Energy, Global Citizenship, Healthy Living, Litter, Marine, School Grounds, Transport, Waste and Water.

It will take between one and two academic years to achieve our first Green Flag award, we then continue with the Eco-Schools programme, renewing our Green Flag every two years, working on a wider variety of topics.

We hope you are as excited by our decision to join the programme as we are. If you have any suggestions, ideas or simply want to get involved (students and parents alike) in the programme please contact me directly at dunsbys@busheymeads.org.uk