Summer 1 2025: Transport: Walk to school for cleaner air and safer roads

At The Willows we already2

• Encourage everyone to walk, scoot or ride to school if they can.
• Ask people not to park close to the school.
• Provide purpose-built shelters at school for pupils to store their bikes and scooters.
• With the help of the PTA we have bought two ‘child traffic cones’ to put on the road before school every day.
• Have held two walk to school days in the past 4 years.

Some plans for the future!

• We will learn about air pollution and how we can make our air cleaner in this half term’s Eco Assembly
• Participate in ‘Happy Shoesday’ on Tuesday 20^th May where everyone comes to school in ‘silly socks and happy shoes’ to remind us about the importance of reducing pollution and increasing road safety around school.
• We are hoping to become a ‘school streets’ school to improve the road safety around school.
• All pupils and staff will take part in a ‘Hands up Travel Survey’ to help us monitor how we get to school and the Eco Council will help to do a ‘Modeshift Site Audit.’

Spring 2 2025: Waste: How can we be kinder to the environment by changing the way we buy and use clothes?

To reduce waste at The Willows we already

• Collect and resell preloved school uniform and Christmas jumpers via the PTA
• Collected donations of football kit for Kitaid (Summer 2023) to send to developing countries so that participation in sport is not held back by lack of access to kit and equipment
• Learn about the carbon footprint of different products in our Geography lessons (UKS2)
• Set up a recycling centre for all members of our community to use
• Recycle paper, batteries, soft plastic, metal and hard plastic used in school, milk carton lids, printer ink cartridges and glasses/contact lenses             
• Encourage everyone to use reuseable water bottles and at school parties we don't buy drinks with plastic straws but use squash and reuseable cups instead
• Promote Responsibility for our actions through our School Values

Some plans for the future!

• In a whole school assembly, we will learn about the lifecycle of clothes and what happens to them if they are thrown away. We will discuss consumerism and how it affects our lives
• We will learn how we can help by…. buying second hand, fairtrade, organic or locally produced clothing that is good quality, buying only as much as you need, using it for as long as you can and when you have finished with it, either passing it on, giving it to charity or recycling it 
• We will support the charity 'Clothes4Sammy' which supports Leukaemia and Myeloma Research by collecting donations of preloved clothes, textiles, accessories and toys

Spring 1 2025: Biodiversity: Supporting WWF

At The Willows we already

• Learn and practise many ways to help the environment, including wasting less, eating less meat and more local produce, using less plastic, reusing and recycling, using cars less, walking more and planting for local biodiversity.
• Learn about plants, animals and the environment in lots of areas of the curriculum, including Science and Geography.
• Grow plants and learn how to look after them in Gardening Club, therefore giving habitats for wildlife and improving air quality.
• Have learnt about Biodiversity in previous Eco Assemblies; that every living thing has a place on our planet and plays an essential role in sustaining life on Earth.
• Learnt about Biodiversity; that every living thing has a place on our planet and plays an essential role in sustaining life on Earth.

In the future we are going to

• Learn about the wildlife charity WWF in a whole school assembly and how we can raise awareness of the work they do.
• Give all members of the Willows Community to participate in The Big Winter Wander 2025 to raise money for WWF. (WE RAISED £120!! WELL DONE EVERYONE)
• Understand how we can help to protect animals and the environment by spreading the word about what WWF and other wildlife charities do.
• We will continue working on our rewilding area at the edge of the field to help local biodiversity and wildlife.
• Eco Warrior certificates will be awarded to anyone who demonstrates knowledge, respect, awareness and care for plants, animals and the environment.

Autumn 2 2024: 10 Ways to have an Eco-friendly Christmas

At The Willows we already

• Work with national charity to collect presents for ‘Mission Christmas.’                             
• ‘Upcycle’ (recycle/reuse/resell) Christmas jumpers with proceeds going to the PTA.
• Make homemade cards/craft with as much recycled material as possible.
• Save paper by not sending Christmas cards in school.              
• Reduce waste at our Christmas parties by not buying drinks with plastic straws and using recyclable bottles/cups.
• Recycle our soft plastic, such as chocolate and sweet wrappers, at our school Recycling Centre.

In the future we are going to

• The eco Council will present Christmas Eco ideas in an assembly on 17^th December. They will teach us ways we can celebrate Christmas and be kind to the environment at the same time.
• These ideas can be found below.
• We will pass this message on to the wider community via our eco newsletter and the Eco Book and the Eco Board.
• The PTA are going to continue to collect and resell Christmas jumpers, so save this year’s jumper to donate to next year’s sale.

Autumn 1 2024: What is Eco? How everyone at The Willows does their best to care for the environment.

At The Willows we already

• Have a School Council that teaches us about our 4 school values; Care, Responsibility, Self-belief and Challenge
• Have a half termly eco focus. Past themes include climate change, global citizenship, brilliant bees, litter, transport and rewilding
• Recycle printer cartridges, pens, batteries, used stamps milk carton lids, soft plastic, cans and bottles, glasses and contact lenses
• Follow the Eco Schools programme to earn the Green Flag Award
• Raise money for global charities such as Ugandaid, Kitaid and the Memusi Foundation
• Grow plants and learn how to look after them in Miss Pickering’s Community Growing Project and Gardening Club.
• Encourage everyone to walk, scoot or ride to school to help reduce pollution and increase road safety around school.
• Share eco ideas through our school website and newsletter to help  the wider community to become more environmentally aware
• Pick up litter in school and celebrate our grounds by growing plants, doing sport, orienteering and Outdoor Club and Bear Grylls Club.
• Learn about citizenship and healthy living in PSHE, the world in Geography and materials in Science

In the future we will:

• Learn about how to be eco-friendly through a whole school assembly
• We will introduce our Eco Noticeboard and what information we can find on it
• Continue to reinforce our 4 school values though caring for our environment
• Continue to circulate the Eco Book Boxes so that all children can learn new facts and enjoy stories about looking after the environment
• The Eco Council will carry out an Environmental Review on our school
• We will then formulate an Action Plan with three main targets to work complete before June 2025
• We will apply for our Green Flag accreditation early summer 2025

Preparing our rewilding site!

Our Eco Focus for the summer term 2024 was ‘What is ’Rewilding’ and why should we be rewilding our planet?’

Mrs Mitchell and the Eco Council led KS1 and KS2 assemblies and we learnt that:

• Rewilding is a good way to show CARE for our environment.
• An ecosystem is a community of living organisms (the biodiversity) in a particular area.
• Biodiversity is every living thing on Earth; bacteria, fungi, plants, insects, animals, humans.
• An ecosystem has a chain of interactions between living organisms and their environment.
• Each organism needs the others to survive.
• Rewilding works to nurture a balance between people and the rest of nature so that both can thrive together.

How can we help at school?

• We will plant native hedging and sow wildflower seeds in our prepared rewilding area.
• We have sunk a shallow tray to collect rainwater to attract wildlife
• It will be closed it off to people.
• We hope to protect and extend it each year.

How can we help at home?

• You can let part of your garden grow wild.
• You can learn more about rewilding by reading books like ‘Mia’s Meadow’ or ‘The Art of Rewilding.’
• You can visit a rewilding website to learn more.
• https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/
• https://www.operationfuturehope.org/

Finally, I would like to say thank you to the amazing Eco Council this year. You are true eco warriors! And as always, thank you to all the children, parents and teachers who have helped The Willows to be eco-friendly in 2024!

Here are some of our amazing Eco Councillors looking after our school grounds by picking up litter.

Spring 1 2024

What is Climate Change and what can we do to help?

At The Willows we already:

• Participated in an assembly led by Trafford council about the importance of recycling how they recycle our waste.
• Give eco warrior certificates to those who demonstrate how to help look after the environment.
• Recycle soft and hard plastic, tins, paper, batteries, printer ink cartridges, milk carton lids, pens, glasses and contact lenses at our Recycling Station in the corridor.
• Use reusable water bottles and reuse hand soap bottles.
• Encourage everyone to walk to school and have held ‘Silly Socks and Happy Shoes’ days to promote this.                          
• Replaced most of our lighting to LED and installed hand dryers.
• Make bug hotels to encourage wildlife, hold gardening clubs and grow produce to share with the community.
• Compost our fruit waste, have made and use a leaf mould composter.
• Encourage everyone to eat more plant based food and hold meat free Mondays in the school canteen.

Through this focus we will:

• Learn about what Climate Change is through a whole school assembly and find out what simple things we can all do to help slow down global warming.
• Continue to build a collection of books about the environment for each class to access during ERIC time.
• Inform parents of our current focus and projects through the school newsletter and website.
• Link our environmental beliefs to our school values; Responsibility, Care, Challenge and in particular, Self-Belief that we can make a difference to global issues such as climate change.
• Continue to monitor our new curriculum and ways we can link environmental issues to our learning.

Autumn 2 2023

‘The Best Eco Books’ as recommended by The Willows Eco Council

At The Willows we already:

• Enjoy reading and borrowing books with an environmental theme from the school library       
• Listen to stories in some Eco Assemblies
• ‘Upcycle’ (recycle/reuse/resell) second hand books at The Willows Summer Fair
• List books on our Sonar curriculum documents (subject overviews) for each subject for each year group, many of which have environmental themes.
• Enjoy ERIC (Everyone Reading In Class) each day throughout school
• Have new books that link to out new Literacy curriculum, some of which are linked to respecting the environment

Through this focus we will:

• Learn about new book releases and old favourites in our Eco Assembly where each Eco Council member will recommend a book to the school. This will be passed on via the school newsletter, school website and the Eco Board
• Begin to make collections of Eco books for KS1 and KS2 with the hope that each box will visit a classroom for a few weeks to enhance ERIC time. Possibly ask for donations or support from the PTA
• Encourage everyone to recycle or donate books they no longer need, for example to the free local bookshop in Sale.
• Encourage all members of our school community to buy second hand books if possible in order to reduce our carbon footprint
• Promote and highlight books around school that link to the current half termly eco focus, such as climate change, biodiversity, clean air, global citizenship, waste, healthy living, litter, saving energy and transport

Autumn 1 2023

Global Citizenship: Developing an awareness and sense of responsibility for the world as a whole.

At The Willows we already

• Promote Respect and Responsibility through Our School Values.
• Learn about the world in our broad curriculum, especially in Geography.
• We also look at events in History that we can learn from to make ourselves better citizens today.
• Celebrate the similarities and differences between each other as part of our PSHE learning.
• Celebrate Black History Month. This year the whole school participated in a singing assembly.
• Collected donated football kits and equipment for the charity Kitaid.
• Held an ‘Own Clothes Day’ and raised over £400 to help UgandAid build a rainwater harvesting plant in Uganda.
• Participated in a ‘Diversity Day,’ learning about different cultures.
• Learn about a new language every half term. So far these have included Spanish and Sign Language.

Through this theme we will

• Continue to welcome new members into our school community and enjoy getting to know them and learning about languages, cultures, interests and lifestyles that are different to our own.
• Revise what we know about Global Citizenship in an assembly and learn about the Memusi Charity who work directly with communities & schools in Kenya to provide access to quality education.
• Hold an ‘Own Clothes Day’ on Fri 3rd Nov and wear red, green and black (as in the Kenyan flag) to raise money for the Memusi Foundation.
• Promote the principle that all people should have equal opportunity, using the example of the Memusi Foundation who "believe that Education is the primary route out of poverty for every child.”
• Year 6 will write letters to children at the Memusi School, Magadi, Kenya about themselves and The Willows and the Kenyan children will reply, telling them all about their life In Kenya.
• To find out more about this charity https://www.memusifoundation.org.uk/