Environmental Education

Current Initiatives (Award Schemes)

This spage introduces some of the main environmental initiatives and schemes currently available to schools, some of which include funding opportunities.

Sustainable Schools - the current academic year is a ‘year of action’, providing schools and pupils with resources to help embed sustainable development in their schools and their community. A range of information and resources (including the Sustainable School self-evaluation tool) Government response to the Consultation on the Sustainable Schools strategy – includes the 8 ‘doorway’ themes

‘Year of Food and Farming’ – new Government scheme announced for academic year 2007-08. The Year of Food and Farming wants to promote healthy living, by giving young people the opportunity to:

- follow the story from 'field to fork'
- make informed decisions about food and healthy nutrition
- experience what the countryside can offer
- learn more about environmental issues linked to food and the countryside.

Click on the link to register your school for free.

London Schools Hydrogen Challengel - introducing 11-14 year old London school children to cleaner energy and specifically hydrogen technologies and their applications. The Challenge, which runs from September 2007 to June 2008, provides a range of online teaching resources for Key Stage 3. In addition, students and teachers can win high-tech prizes, along with a top prize of £1,000 for their school.

Healthy Schools - is a national programme. Healthy School promotes the health and well-being of school pupils and staff through a well-planned, taught curriculum in a physical and emotional environment that promotes learning and healthy lifestyle choices. The 4 core themes of Healthy Schools are Healthy Eating - Physical Activity - Emotional Health and Well Being – PSHE (including SRE/drugs/ citizenship). Bursaries are available for environmental projects that tie in with these themes. Speak to your school’s Healthy School coordinator for more information.

The London Schools Environment Awards - The London Schools Environment Awards, open to all London's primary schools, were set up in 2003 to develop children’s sense of responsibility for their environment. The areas which the schools focused on were litter, waste and recycling, energy, transport and biodiversity. There are two cash prizes available each year to two schools in each borough - £2000 and £1000.

Eco schools – is a great way to make sustainable development a part of the life and ethos of your school. Designed to fit into the curriculum, it's an award scheme that gets everyone in the school community involved in making the school environment better. Schools can aim for the Bronze, Silver and Green Flag awards.

Forest Schools – is an innovative educational approach to outdoor play and learning.’The philosophy of Forest Schools is to encourage and inspire individuals of any age through positive experiences and participation in engaging and motivating achievable tasks and activities in a woodland environment, helping to develop personal, social and emotional skills.

Green champions Scheme – Hackney Council Recycling Department. ‘If you feel strongly about recycling and would like to do more within the community, you may like to join our Green Champions scheme’. London Outdoor Science Project – (funded by the Field Studies Council).

London Outdoor Science – London Outdoor Science aims to develop the use of fieldwork in secondary science teaching in London schools by providing practical guidance, training and resources to support teaching in local green spaces, such as parks and commons.

LMB Education – provides schools with two FREE recycling initiatives, The Clothes Collectors and Shoe Friends. These easy to run initiatives aim to teach school children that unwanted clothes, textiles and shoes should be seen as a resource rather then as a waste. Schools are provided with an assembly, leaflets and recycling workshops. Schools are also paid for the collection of the clothing and shoes.

Global Action Plan - ‘Action on Waste’ helps secondary schools and colleges to save resources, save money and to create stimulating learning by involving pupils, teachers and all members of the school community. The aim is to reduce waste, increase recycling and raise awareness about environmental issues in London.

Learning through Landscapes - ‘A Learning through Landscapes – A school grounds charity which works with schools, organisations and individuals across the country to help them improve and develop their school grounds and environmental projects. The annual membership is £50 (includes regular mailings with ideas on how to develop your school grounds) – no programs currently, but have run several schemes with funding opportunities in recent years, including ‘growing schools’ and ‘fit for fun’... Call 01962 846258 for more information and membership details. Email: schoolgrounds-uk@ltl.org.uk

The Growing Schools - the website has been designed to support teachers in using the ‘outdoor classroom’ as a resource across the curriculum for pupils of all ages.

Young People’s Trust - for the Environment – a charity which aims to encourage young people's understanding of the environment and the need for sustainability. They have lots of fact sheets written especially for young people, all available online, along with information about their ‘Green School Awards’ competition for young people (aged 7-11).

Grow your own grub – a step-by-step growing project for schools.