Young People Pledge to Make Schools Greener
29 June 2009
Young people from schools across the country made eco pledges last week as they committed to making their school cleaner, greener and more sustainable.
Held at Stoneleigh Exhibition Centre Coventry, thousands flocked to the Eco-Schools show, which is a key date in the calendar for schools participating in the programme that supports the government’s aim to make every school sustainable by 2020.
An array of activities took place throughout the day which included the first ever Eco Heroes awards, given to five exceptional contributors to the programme, as well as workshops, ask the experts sessions and hands on eco activities including a wall of pledges made by the pupils.
As young people are the driving force behind the programme, the show’s format was aimed at inspiring pupils of all ages, showing them the latest environmental resources and techniques at their disposal and giving them the opportunity to see for themselves who is behind Eco-Schools.
One of the most popular attractions was show sponsor, EDF Energy’s online resource ‘The Pod’ , which offers the most up to date tips on how to be green at the click of a button.
Keep Britain Tidy runs the Eco-Schools programme in England where over 13,000 schools are Eco-Schools, working hard to progress their school through the programme’s award structure from Bronze to the highly sought after Green Flag with the aim of eventually becoming sustainable.
Phil Barton chief executive, Keep Britain Tidy said: “The day was a great success, and it was brilliant to see how the young people have fully embraced the Eco-Schools programme and are at the forefront of suggesting and implementing environmental improvements for their school.”
Peter Thorn, Head of Education at EDF Energy said: “The show was a real hub of ideas and creativity, and it was excellent to see young people as well as teachers using The Pod and discovering all the unique and useful features it has to offer those on the Eco-Schools programme.”
Jan Eriksen, President of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) said: “The show was a fantastic display of the commitment of England’s schools to the Eco-Schools programme, and the desire to become sustainable.”
Eco Schools is one of five environmental education programmes run internationally by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). In England it is administered by Keep Britain Tidy.
For more information about the Eco-Schools programme visit the Eco-Schools website.