A groundswell of student support to save the planet

Thursday 28 April 2022

Earth Week is all about learning the importance of regaining biodiversity to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

It all started back in 2017 with the BBC’s Blue Planet II. Suddenly environmental destruction was thrown into sharp focus and GSAL students were determined to do something about it.  Following concerns about plastic pollution in the ocean, there was a groundswell of support to reduce the amount we were using (around 3060 plastic bottles every week). Students and staff started separating plastic bottles for recycling.

Then students asked if I would meet them to talk about how they could reduce the school’s impact on the planet. It turned out the school had already been working on this for some time. Our catering manager, Mr Mirfin, had been sending our waste cooking oil to be processed into fuel for the last 20 years.

The Eco-Committee grew and grew as young people became involved in something they believed in and wanted to act on. Artist James McKay ran a workshop for Eco-Committee students where they designed a low carbon future school. Some of the students’ designs were published in a book.

In February 2020, students attended the Leeds Youth Voice Summit where they learned about the science behind climate change alongside city councillors from the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee.

Mrs Woodroofe set up the Environmental Sustainability Group, which was making good progress, then the pandemic hit. Not put off, our Eco-Committee met online to explore ways they could connect with nature and protect their planet. Then in September they launched our Climate Café to discuss solutions to climate change.  November 2021 was a critical time for climate negotiations as the UK hosted COP26 in Glasgow, attended by two of our students.

Following my Big Lesson on Climate and Nature students completed a questionnaire from the Eco-Schools Programme. The students decided to focus on biodiversity, waste and transport. While our fantastic transport service carries over 700 students to school each day, there was concern about parents sitting in cars with their engines running. The Eco- Committee researched the impacts of localised pollution and designed a poster and leaflet to encourage parents to turn off their engines.

On the waste front, Senior School is ceasing sales of single use drinks containers from September 2022. As for biodiversity, Eco-Committee students planted a wildflower meadow and worked extremely hard to clear nettles from the neglected pond and to sow woodland plants around it. Frogs have now returned and the tadpoles are doing very well.

Last summer I met with representatives from White Rose Forest to secure funding to plant 15 hectares of mixed native woodland over the next five years on the grassland beyond Manor House Lane. The Eco-Committee and the Scouts braved sleet in March to plant 250 saplings, re-using old tree guards from hedging to protect the new trees.

As part of our Eco-Schools accreditation journey, any action to improve biodiversity isn’t only local, but global. Therefore, we’re embarking on a project with RAIN Reforest to help the Terena indigenous people in Brazil establish 13 tree nurseries plus community gardens.

For Earth Week, students are attending assemblies and can pledge to buy a tree. Other events include a Film Festival Climate Café and a recycled art workshop.

We still have a way to go to obtain Eco-Schools Green Flag success but making significant strides towards it. Achieving this would not mean we are perfectly green, but it shows we are trying. It takes collective and determined effort from all of us – individuals, schools and businesses to protect our beautiful planet for generations to come.