Whether you’re a parent, teacher or pupil – here’s our practical guide for making your school more green & environmentally friendly.
1. Meat-free Mondays
Help the planet and promote healthy food by going meat-free (even if it’s just one day of the week!). The Meat Free Mondays schools programme includes ideas for teachers, tips for students, information for parents and advice for caterers on how to go meat free!
2. Grow your own
Growing and harvesting food is both rewarding and educational. Dedicate a patch of school grounds for growing food and teaching pupils about the importance of where our food comes from. Check out Food For Life’s Get Growing page for more information and resources, e.g. seasonal planting guides.
3. Food waste diary
Encourage children to keep a weekly food waste diary, recording what food they waste, how much and why it’s wasted. You can download one here.
4. Strike!
Whether you’re a parent or teacher, inspire a new generation of Greta Thunbergs and take your children to an environmental protest. Find environmental action near you.
5. Hold a plastic-waste assembly
Encourage pupils to collect and bring in all the single-use plastic their family generates in a week, to raise awareness on the issue of plastic pollution in a visually striking and tangible way.
6. Go on a beach clean school trip
Dive deeper into the plastic pollution problem and empower pupils to do their bit for nature and learn about how their actions impact our oceans. The Marine Conservation Society have more information about beach cleaning days. Ps. if you don’t live near the ocean, how about cleaning up a local park or forest?
7. Share or swap
Add last year’s school uniforms, books or toys to Olio or set-up a parent-to-parent uniform swap.
8. Eco-friendly supplies
Work with school management to identify opportunities to making the switch to eco-friendly bulk supplies, e.g. cleaning products, classroom supplies.
9. Air pollution campaign
Introduce an air pollution campaign (check out the Healthy Air campaign). Reduce idling outside your school and encourage pupils, parents & teachers to walk, cycle or take local transport.
10. Rescue & share your school’s canteen food
Encourage your School canteen to sign-up to our Food Waste Heroes programme, so we can rescue and redistribute any surplus food via the app, so it doesn’t go to waste.
11. Become an Eco School
Take it to the next level and register your school to become an Eco School or Plastic Free School.