What have we done? What are we doing?

Environmental Review Score: 2 out of 6 (Red) (May 21) ► 4 out of 6 (Amber) (Oct 21)

This is not one of our strongest areas in our Eco plan, mainly because we don't live near a large river, lake or near the sea so it has been historically harder to get involved. We do teach about looking after the oceans and examining the impact of plastic on marine life. 

Actions:

- Reduce single use plastic in school (straws, cups, lunchtime)

- Find out about where fish on the lunch menu is caught.

- Find out if we can do volunteering work in Astley Park to help keep the River Chor clean

Progress:

- Reducing plastic waste at lunchtime (particularly during Covid where our normal routines have had to change and there is now more plastic involved)

- Swapped non-recyclable milk cartons and straws for a more environmentally friendly version that can be recycled.

- Participated in a clean up in Astley Park (Balsam Bashing) near to the River Chor

- Signed up for the Walrus from Space project to help understand what is happening to the walrus population and surrounding marine life.

Walrus from Space (October 2021)

We bet you've often wondered: can you see a walrus from space? Apparently you can, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the British Antarctic Survey are trying to survey them. Thousands of satellite images have been snapped of the Arctic (at the North Pole) and volunteers are needed to examine the images, spot the animals and log the count with the lead scientists. It is part of understanding the impact of ice melting due to global warming, how this affects marine life and the oceans, and what this means for this already endangered species. 

Our school has registered to be volunteer "Walrus Detectives" and, after some online training, we are looking forward to a spot of walrus counting from the warmth of our classrooms very shortly! We will also use this to raise awareness with our children of how climate change is affecting marine life, and hence why our Decarbonisation Project is so important to the health of our oceans.

You can find out more about this project here: "Walrus From Space" and see what the children will be getting up to. Importantly this ties into Science and Working Scientifically, really important knowledge and skills our children need to experience and practise.

Balsalm Bashing (July 2021)

Y5 headed off in to Astley Park recently, just a short distance from our school, to help the Friends of Astley Park with a bit of balsam bashing. This should help to remove this invasive species from the banks of the River Chor and help threatened indigenous wildlife to recover. 

See more of what they got up to here: