Research and feedback has shown that children love to feel that they are a part of a mass participation event. Because of this, the Pod runs environmentally themed campaigns each year to support the activities that are on the Pod and to help the whole school, parents and the local community get involved.
The Pod’s campaigns are Switch-Off Fortnight in the autumn and Waste Week in the spring. The campaigns are based around Pod activities, but also provide extra resources such as posters and badges to make it fun and exciting. There are also prizes to add a competitive element, both within the school and with other schools.
In 2012 over 4200 schools took part in Switch-Off Fortnight and over 3100 took part in Waste Week 2013.
The Pod also suggest that you hold a Green Day or Green Week in the summer. Whilst there aren’t any packs for this, there are resources on the Pod to support it, including a campaign guide with ideas for what to do on the day, and posters to download.
The Pod's campaigns are a great way to introduce sustainability topics to your students, or used as a mechanism to kick start the work of schools new to the Eco-Schools programme. The Pod's calls to action enable you to achieve a whole school approach as well as make everyone aware of the school's commitment to becoming sustainable.
Download our "How the Pod's campaigns can help with Eco-Schools" guide.
Read our "Arden goes for Bronze" case study to see how one school achieved their Eco-Schools Bronze award by taking part in the Pod's Switch-Off Fortnight campaign.
The Pod's campaigns:
Autumn: Switch-Off Fortnight - students and teachers learn about the importance of saving energy and complete simple activities designed to help reduce their energy use.
Spring: Waste Week - a fantastic new campaign helping students tackle waste in their schools. The 2013 campaign focused on becoming waste scientists.
Summer: Green Day / Week - a time for schools to showcase and celebrate all the work they have done throughout the year.
Visit www.jointhepod.org for more information about the Pod's campaigns and to register your school.