Location: Dorothy Stringer High School, Brighton
About: Zach and Liam are active members of the Eco Club and Eco Committee at Dorothy Stringer School
Photo: Sam Eddison
Zach and Liam were awarded Young Environmentalists of the Year by Sussex Eco Awards 2010. Both studying for their GCSEs at Dorothy Stringer School, they are active members of the Eco Club and Eco Committee, a student council working to improve the ecology and sustainability of the school.
Zach plays an important role in the school's 'Eco-Check' scheme, visiting classrooms at lunchtime, measuring power consumption and checking that lights and computers have been switched off – naming and shaming teachers if not!
Liam is particularly active in the eco club's recycled notepads project – where notepads are made from waste paper used only on one side. The pads are stamped with 'this was rubbish' and sold at parent evenings and other events to raise money for the Environment Centre. He is also currently taking a GCSE in Environmental Science.
As well as winning a green flag, Dorothy Stringer emphasises bioliteracy and the promotion of environmental awareness. In addition to organising various trips and exchanges for their own students, the school has helped Japanese and Italian students to learn language through applied environmental learning. It also ensures that every student plants a tree when they first arrive at the school, and that there are Eco reps in each form.
The school's Environment Centre is home to lots of interesting experiments. The 'hairy wall' is made from human hair, sheep hair, and dog hair, so students can examine which is the best insulator. The windows are triple glazed, double glazed or single glazed and have thermometers on both sides to show the differences in heat loss. The kitchen walls are insulated with sustainable insulation made from Woven Flax, a sun pipe fills the room with natural light, and there is a solar hot water heating system on the roof. The main school building already has one solar panel array, but they are hoping to get more soon. They are also currently working on an exciting new project: making a greenhouse out of recycled bottles!
Dorothy Stringer is committed to increasing the biodiversity of the school grounds. Students like Zach and Liam help with coppicing hazel trees; making a woven hazel fence; organic gardening and planting rare plants. A pond has been dug, and a butterfly haven has been developed where sheep graze to manage the chalk grassland. Working Days take place one Saturday each term where students, parents and friends are invited to tidy, rebuild and manage the woodland and nature reserve.
As part of Brighton & Hove’s “Big Nature” (an association of different organisations which have come together to deliver a series of biodiversity related events to involve and inspire people with their local environment), Dorothy Stringer hosts a Summer Environment Fayre each year and held the Big Nature Biodiversity Conference in November 2010.
This style of holistic education is important because it helps pupils to relate to the environment and ensures that concepts are not too abstract “We believe there is no point in recycling and saving energy if there is not a connection, love and understanding with the natural world around us, the very thing that provides us with fresh water, clean air and pollinating insects that is essential to life’.
Find out more about the Eco School here
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