At Stocksbridge Junior School, we are proud to be working towards our Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation.

Through discussion with children and staff, it was clear that, here at Stocksbridge Junior School, we care deeply about environmental issues and have a strong desire to protect our planet. Children were already aware of some environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity-loss and plastic pollution on a global scale. These huge global issues left many children wanting to help but unsure of where to start.

Where do we start?

The Eco-Schools programme provides a simple, seven-step framework that answers this question whilst empowering young people to make a difference in their school, local community and beyond. Since 1994, millions of young people around the world have worked through the Eco-Schools Seven Steps before being recognised for their efforts with a prestigious Eco-Schools Green Flag.

Schools connect their activities to three or more of the Ten Eco-Schools Topics. These topics break large, global issues, like climate change, into more manageable and directed themes that prompt young people to consider environmental changes that they can make in their school and everyday lives.

At Stocksbridge Junior School, our School Council and Eco-Committee conducted an Environmental Review which identified three areas to address in our school and local community. These areas are:

• Energy – to reduce our energy usage in school.
• Biodiversity – to promote biodiversity in our school grounds.
• Transport – to continue to develop sustainable travel.

To find out more about our Eco-Schools work, please see our Eco-Schools Action plan and take a look at our blog posts to see Eco-Schools in action.