Children can take steps to help their school become more environmentally friendly and sustainable.
There’s so much schoolchildren can do in Southwark to reduce their impact on the environment.
Steps you can take to help your school become more sustainable include:
Recycling for schools is free.
There's a cost for general waste collections but if you recycle enough to reduce your general waste by one 'euro bin' per week, you can save £500 per year.
Read more about our recycling services.
You can contact us by:
Our schools offer students fun and educational trips and workshops focused on the environment, like:
If you would like to learn what happens to your waste and recycling, you can book a tour at your local waste management facility.
Organising an Eco Day or an Eco Week is a great way to help your school become more sustainable.
It can involve everyone and be a fun way to tackle serious issues.
If you decide to organise an event to raise awareness of environmental issues, it’s a good idea to:
If you want an event partner, there are organisations that may be able to help, like:
We want to help all schools become as energy efficient as possible.
Funding is available for schools to help reduce energy consumption. The Low Carbon Schools Programme funds heating and lighting improvements and can save your school money on energy bills and reduce your carbon footprint.
To get involved, contact us for a free energy audit of your school’s heating and lighting systems.
In return, you’ll get a detailed summary of the findings, including:
The programme may be able to provide funding for half the cost of any improvements that reduce gas or electricity consumption. It will also oversee the management of any installation projects.
To request a free energy audit contact us by email: sustainable.services@southwark.gov.uk
Schools can develop a school garden and wildlife areas so your pupils can spend more time outside the classroom.
Organisations and programmes that may be able to support you include:
Learning through Landscapes helps schools and early years settings make the best of their outdoor space.
The benefits include behavioural and learning benefits, increased biodiversity and environmental quality in school grounds, respect for the environment and growing your own food.
Saving energy in school significantly reduces a school's impact on the environment, but it also saves a lot of money.
It’s a good idea to:
Try doing a 'big switch off' where pupils switch off classroom lights at playtimes, lunch and at the end of the day to save energy.
Teachers can also appoint energy monitors and everyone switches off monitors and computers when they are not in use.
Teach students about renewable energy and perhaps investigate getting your own renewable energy source.
Participate in:
All schools should have a Display Energy Certificate (DEC).
Helpful links:
Minimise the environmental impacts of your school's food by reducing food waste.
Find out more:
Start making your own compost in school. You'll save money on your waste collection bill and will have a great teaching resource.
Get funding from the Tree council to plant some trees on your school grounds.
Water is not as abundant as you think so it's important not to waste it.
An average school could save £1,100 per year by careful water management.
Here’s a few things your school could do:
Help your school to reduce the use of cars during the school run.
School travel plans are documents that help pupils travel to school safely, healthily and sustainably. You can find out more about walking and cycling to school.
Ideas for getting pupils to think about the environmental impact of travel include: