February 2010
Welcome to Tom Thumb’s first Eco-School Newsletter.
Tom Thumb has established an action team who have met up on several occasions to discuss ways in which we can help save the environment. We have now achieved our Bronze award, which is now displayed on our notice board, we can now also apply for £250 from Eco-schools which can be put towards garden equipment and will help us achieve our silver award.
Presently our Action Team members are: Claire Matassa, Karen MacDonald, Pamela Boyes, Rachel Macrae, Rosie Hay and Kelly Murphy. New members are very welcome!
ABOUT OUR ECO-SCHOOL STATUS
The Eco-Schools scheme is rooted in a genuine desire to help children become more effective citizens by encouraging them to take responsibility for the future of their own environment. Through this scheme (and the funding available) we will be able to introduce further eco-friendly solutions to our nursery.
The initial stage in achieving our Eco-School status was to carry out an ‘Environmental Audit’ in the form of a questionnaire supplied by the Eco-Schools organization. From this we identified the degree of impact that the school has on the environment at present. The resulting Bronze award therefore reflects the current good practice of the nursery.
The next stage involved the creation of an action plan with the aims of further reducing our environmental impact. In addition it involved the creation of a specific project with the aim of raising ecological awareness within both children and adults.
OUR ACTION PLAN
We would like you to be more involved with basic recycling – if there is anything you have in your house that you think we could use for gluing etc. E.g. buttons, ribbons, scrap materials etc.
Recycling and Composting - We are increasing recycling and composting practices within the nursery. We will also be providing information about recycling facilities for parents.
Energy Efficiency – as the hall is owned by the church, we work together with their eco congregation. But at the moment we are trying to encourage the children to switch off the lights when we don’t need them on.
Transport to and from Nursery - We are hoping to cut down on car usage by encouraging parents to walk to nursery.
Education for sustainable development – our Eco-Schools Project
Our aim is to educate children and adults towards a more sustainable life style. This includes promoting the understanding of how nature works and why respecting and looking after it is an important responsibility for the future of our environment.
Children-focused: Developing the Garden - Extend current practices of composting, seed sowing, vegetable growing, harvesting and cooking/eating and composting again to emphasize sustainable systems.