Eco-Schools in Edinburgh

Eco-Schools offers nursery (including child and family centres) , primary, secondary and special schools a recognised award programme for promoting environmental awareness and action throughout the whole school.  Eco-Schools supports the four capacities of education as highlighted in a Curriculum for Excellence, ie. successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors. The overall aim is to involve the whole school and members of the local community in developing an understanding of the environment and embedding this in school life.

Eco-Schools in Edinburgh Progress

We now have 237 establishments that are registered as Eco-Schools throughout Edinburgh. Of these there are:

• 150 bronze awards
• 108 silver awards
• 38 first green flags
• 19 second green flags
• 6 third green flags
• A massive congratulations to Portobello High School, who became the first secondary school in Scotland to achieve permanent green flag status after being awarded their fourth green flag. You can read more about their success here. 

All of these awards are great achievements so a big well done to all involved.  A full list of awarded schools can be seen on the Eco-Schools in Scotland website.

Update

Registration is now open for the Keep Scotland Beautiful National Spring Clean 2010, which takes place from 1st-30th April. Once you have registered, you will receive a FREE clean up kit to help you get started. The City of Edinburgh Council is supporting groups taking part in the National Spring Clean and can provide litter picking equipment for your event and arrange collection of rubbish afterwards. Please email Lorna McFadden or visit the National Spring Clean website for more information.

May deadline for Waste Action Grants: Grants of £500-£2500 are available to schools in Edinburgh to help support projects that encourage people to reduce, reuse and recycle their waste. Examples of successful projects include a 'bag for life' scheme, a toy library and a 'nearly new uniform sale' project.  Money is available so don't miss out! The next deadline for the larger grants is the 24th of May. Smaller grants (£50-£200) are also available, and can be applied for at any time. If you have a waste project and would like some support or information, please contact the Waste Education Officer on 0131 469 5070 or email wasteaction@edinburgh.gov.uk. Application forms and information can be downloaded from the waste action grant webpage.


The Waste Education team have put together three different loan activity boxes covering ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’, ‘make waste history’ and ‘composting’. Each box includes lesson plans, a USB resource pack, games and activities. The boxes can be booked through the Education Service Centre by calling 0131 469 2960 or by email at ES-ILR@ea.edin.sch.uk

Waste Education Cabin prize draw: The waste education team is continuing to take bookings for the Waste Education Cabin at the Seafield Community Recycling Centre, Fillyside Road.  A visit to the cabin provides an insight into Reduce, Reuse, Recycle as well as a tour of the Community Recycling Centre. See www.edinburgh.gov.uk/wasteaware for more information or contact wasteaction@edinburgh.gov.uk.

If you are an Eco-Coordinator at a Green Flag awarded school, you are eligible for a ‘Certificate of Professional recognition’ in sustainable development education from the General Teaching Council. The Eco-Schools in Scotland website has more information and a sample application form available to download.

Background

The aim of the Eco-Schools programme is to embed environmental awareness and action in the day to day life of pupils and staff in schools, while also engaging the wider community.  This is achieved through a recognised award scheme that acknowledges schools that make a commitment to continuously improve their environmental performance.  There are three levels of award. The first two levels of award are the Bronze and Silver Awards, which are self-assessed. The top level of award is the Green Flag award, which is assessed during a visit to the school and must be renewed every two years. A school is considered to be a permanent Eco-School once it has gained its Fourth Green Flag. A school can apply for any one of these levels depending on how much it feels it has achieved. Full details of the awards structure, and details of how to apply can be found on the Eco-Schools Scotland website.

The Seven Elements

In order to achieve any level of award, schools must work through the seven key elements to the Eco-Schools programme:

1. Eco Committee
2. Environmental Review
3. Action Plan
4. Monitor and evaluate
5. Links to the curriculum
6. Involve the wider community
7. The Eco code

All of these elements promote whole school involvement in sustainable action and encourage learning in a fun and inclusive way.

The Nine Topics

The programme comprises nine environmental topics, which schools are encouraged to work through at their own pace by identifying those topics most relevant to them. Clicking on the topics below will take you to information you might find useful. The topics covered by Eco-Schools are:

• Energy
• Water
• Waste minimisation
• Biodiversity
• School Grounds
• Sustaining Our World
• Health and Well Being
• Transport
• Litter*

*Litter is the only mandatory topic.

If used to its fullest potential the Eco-Schools programme can deliver knowledge, skills and attitudes that form part of the ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ in Scottish schools, i.e. developing successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.  Learning and Teaching Scotland has further information on the Curiculum for Excellence.

Support Available

Support for Eco-schools in Edinburgh is free for all local authority, independent and partner provider schools and nurseries in Edinburgh. As well as information provision via phone or email, Eco-Schools in Edinburgh organises a programme of varied teacher training events throughout the school year. We are also available for in-house training, eco-committee meetings, green flag advice and one to one progress meetings in schools. There is also a full time Eco-Schools volunteer available until March 2010, who has a particular interest in gardening, but is happy to lend a hand with all aspects of eco-work. To contact the Eco-Schools team, please email or call 0131 469 5277.