In September 2007, Trinity school joined the Eco schools award to encourage a wider awareness of green issues and work together as a team to improve the school environment and reduce our environmental impact. In 2010 we gained a silver award. We are currently working towards the green flag award.
The Eco schools team meets every Thursday in the DT department to work on a range of projects including fundraising, recycling, improving the school environment and raising awareness of environmental issues.
The latest news from the project is listed below:
You can also find out more from the 'Trinity eco-schools' interest space our school VLE (learning portal) here>
Environmental links:
- Eco schools interest space The interest space for Trinity eco-schools members
- WaterAid dedicated exclusively to the provision of safe water to the world's poorest people.
- Avaaz.org Avaaz empowers millions of people from all walks of life to take action on pressing global, regional and national issues.
Linking to the school portal:
We are now on the school portal, including news of events, achievements links and the opportunity to discuss new ideas....
Link: https://portal.we-learn.org.uk/establishments/4752/TrinityEcoSchools
Switch On to Switching Of:
Over the past three weeks we have been taking part in the 'Switch on to switching off' campaign. To work out what we have saved
24 rooms in the same 2 lessons for the 2 weeks before and the 2 weeks of the campaign. Results were impressive.
Before the campaign we descivered 14% of the lights switched off.
During the campaign we discovered 25 and 34% of the lights switched off.
The students taing part in the surveys were amazed at the amount of wasted energy lighting empty classrooms and have made a really positive
contribution turning off lights when they were not in use.
Silver awards:
We are delighted to say we have this week been awarded a silver eco-schools award having completed a large scale project within the school
introducing recycling facilities and beign well on the way to completing other projects.
Switch off fortnight:
On Monday 22nd November we start 'switch off fortnight' a campaign to promote awareness of energy use and encourage students to switch off un-used electrical appliances.
Latest CAFOD campaigns:
Sudan has suffered many conflicts in the last 20 years. The UK has promised too stand alongside Sudan and
support their journey towards peace To ensure that they stand by their promises, send them a letter.
Eco action plan:
We have just completed our new eco-action plan for the year. The plan lists our targets, projects and also shows
what we have achieved over the past year. The full plan is available to download.
Download>
The POD:
We have registered with 'the POD' an online series of activities and events to promote the environment in school.
Over the coming weeks we will be registering students to access the site and start to complete the online environmental challenges. More details available at the POD
Solar power:
The team are currently completing the forms to apply for the MySolar School competition. This £15 million competition will see solar photovoltaic panel installations worth between £20,000 and £40,000 generating renewable energy in up to 750 schools.
We have until 11:59pm on 22 October 2010 to complete the forms and enter. Solar panels will not only generate electricity for the school but also help cut our carbon footprint.
Recycling news:
Last week we filled the paper and card recycling bins for the third time in a row. This means we have reduced the volume of waste we dispose of to landfill by 30% over the past year.
We also have a new recycling box in the Design Technology corridor to recycle plastic bottles and a wheelie bin by the Design Technology door to recycle aluminium cans.
Gardening team news:
Yesterday evening we continued our work clearing and planting the area between Design Technology and Science. Weirdest object of the day prize was for a complete 4 meter long venetian blind hidden under the grass and weeds.
Wildlife included toads, frogs and common lizards. The work will continue every Wednesday evening and all students and staff are welcome to come along and help.
Cafod - Climate justice campaign:
This week we recieved a letter thanking us for promoting the CAFOD 'Climate justice' campaign to encourage world leaders to seek a a fair and binding UN climate change deal that puts the needs of poor communities at its heart.
Since taking part in the campaign we have also recieved a response to our letter to the Prime minister Gordon Brown. A copy of the letter and the CAFOD campaign is displayed on the Eco schools notice board in the D&T corridor.
Further details of the ongoing campaign can be found at http://www.cafod.org.uk/take-action/climate
Fair Trade Fashion show:
Year 9 and 10 textiles students are currently working hard to produce a range of garments from
recycled clothing. These designs will be displayed in a fair trade fashion show taking place on 27th February at St Peter's
conference centre, Dormer place. Tickets are available from Natasha in DT.
Eco Action plan:
Our latest Eco action plan for 2008-09 is available to download here. The plan outlines
the work so far and the targets the group has set itself for the coming
term. If you would like to include projects you are running in this plan
please contact Simon Hill in the Design Technology department.
Download>
Sustainable design:
We are pleased to say that over 50% of the materials used in Design Technology now come from reclaimed or recycled materials. This allows us to invest out budgets in equipment and tools and also lowers our environmental impact by diverting materials which would otherwise have been wasted. Thanks to Blake exhibitions in Kenilworth we now have a regular supply of manmade boards and plastics.
Bulb planting:
On Saturday 8th November members of the team got together with the Trinty PTA to plant bulbs in the grounds. This project has been run by the PTA for several years now to improve the appearance of the school in the spring. Over 400 bulbs were planted together with a range of smaller plants. We will be getting together with the PTA in the spring to plant 30 trees on the school site.
How you can help:
The
'green' team meet every Thursday lunchtime in the Design Technology department. The team is split into
smaller groups, each working on a project. The team gets together once
a month to share ideas and plan new projects. Anyone is welcome to join
us for the meetings (staff or students). Further information about the
meetings is available from Simon Hill, head of Design Technology.
Courtyard garden:
The team has completed work developing the courtyard in the building to provide a courtyard garden for students to use.
In the spring the team plan to plant herbs and edible plants for use in food technology as well as a wider range of plants.
Thanks to everyone who has supported the development through the donation of plants and materials including the generous support of the PTA.
Older articles are also available in our archive >
Information on this site is intended for the use of Students and staff of Trinity Catholic School and should not be reproduced or re-distributed without prior permission.
