E c o C o m m i t t e e
At the start of the Michaelmas term, 22 pupils across Reception to Year 6 were elected by their classmates to form the first Eco Committee in the Junior Prep School. This team will be working closely together with pupils and staff across the JPS over the coming academic year to work towards an Eco Schools Green Flag accreditation in association with Keep Britain Tidy.
The group met in early September to discuss and can carry out a thorough environment review of the JPS to assess how eco-friendly Hurst is against 10 environmental topics. Producing this report helped pupils to identify many environmental initiatives that are already successfully taking place within the school and consider areas for improvement.
Having reviewed the data, pupils acknowledged which topics accumulated lower scores and discussed their environmental areas of interest before agreeing on three Eco Schools topics to form their Action Plan: Biodiversity, Healthy Living and Litter. Inspired by their Environmental Review, the committee then started to plan and deliver actions in line their chosen topics. The group shared their aims with JPS pupils and staff in an assembly and commenced some exciting projects, which invite others to take part in environmental work.
Just before the half term break, every pupil in the JPS took part in planting the living wall around the netball court, which they are excited to see evolve, grow and attract wildlife over the coming months. New recycling bins have been positioned in the JPS building and forms across the JPS have started using these to responsibly dispose of old pens, glue sticks and plastic wrapping. The committee were keen to invest in litter pickers to encourage pupils to take care and responsibility for looking after our school grounds and key elements of the Action Plan have also inspired JPS Missions and the recent SPARKS project!
It has been wonderful to see the JPS community wholeheartedly involved in the Eco School initiative, and we look forward to seeing the impact of all the changes, big and small, the children are making to protect our planet.
If you would like to find out more about Eco Schools, you can visit www.eco-schools.co.uk and look out for updates about the work the JPS is doing on the college’s social media pages!