How and where is energy used in your home? The more energy we use, the more greenhouse gases are created contributing to climate change. How can we save energy?

The Roots & Shoots programme is ‘About making positive change happen’ and so is everyone at St Christopher’s Roots & Shoots is also about creating a ‘Supportive environment where young people come together to share ideas and inspiration’ just like St Christopher’s. Roots & Shoots encourages ‘young people like us to implement successful community service projects and participate in special events, so do St Christopher’s. We haven’t achieved global domination but we’ve defiantly caught the attention of most in our county and the nation beyond that. We have tried to make all we do appealing to everyone – from listeners of BBC Radio Lancashire to the fans of football; to primary school pupils and to the old folks of nursing homes.

Naturally to get …

Read all of Our Roots & Shoots group (what was and is and is to come!)

Our eco-committee decided to go all out this year and create miniature gardens from all around the world to enter in the annual Blaenau Gwent in Bloom competition. 

The 6 large planters in the main school yard were beginning to rot so we asked our local environmental officer to help renew them.  Once renewed we set about researching  plants and flowers from four continents; Africa, Australia, Asia and the Mediterranean.  Our last two planters were converted into Welsh cottage gardens.

AFRICA:-

In Africa we planted cape daisies, agapanthus and african marigolds.

AUSTRALIA:-

In Australia we planted cana lilies, phormium and bottle brush plants.

MEDITERRANEAN:-

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Read all of Bryngwyn in Bloom 2011 – Gardens around the world!

Our Year 6 pupils have been very busy building a sustainable african keyhole  garden.  They have been learning about sustainability and the soil conditions in Africa.  They have decided to grow tomatoes, sweetcorn and potatoes.   
The children used a combination of bricks and stones to create the garden.  They turned a piece of willow fencing into a cylinder to create the compost area at the centre of the garden.  A garden sieve was then placed on top of the compost area to allow the rain water to seep through the compost and into the garden to help enrich the soil.  Each day different children throughout the school place their banana peel, fruit stumps etc and the staff …

Read all of Year 6 building an african keyhole garden!

We have been busy organising our Walk for Wildlife here in Malta in which the entire middle school participated.  We are delighted with the results.  We managed to raise £1800 for our cause.
 
The 5km walk took place on 28th April and the children were very excited.
          
This year we fund raised money for the Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots programme.

We supported as well the Jane Goodall Institute.

All the students from the walk took part in the fund raising and the Top 3 of them were Awarded:

1st place Tristyn Torriani

2nd place Michelle Ellul

3rd place William Petit…

Read all of Verdala International School Summer Update

Some projects cannot be confined to one school term. Furthermore, several straddle the people, animals and environment divide! PEP TALK, our campaign for the eradication of non-recyclable yogurt pots is an example of both. Running throughout the year, the campaign was inspired by graphic images of marine animals destroyed by plastic in the Pacific. We have seen similar evidence on our coast in southern England:  One World indeed.  This simple campaign from a school has had real resonance in business, with Yeo Valley lending massive support and producing their new four pack yoghurts in PET. We have been lucky enough to visit their inspiring headquarters overlooking Blagdon Water twice this summer. We would encourage all Roots and Shoots Schools to …

Read all of Ringwood School Update – Environment

Students and staff really celebrated ‘Green Britain Day’ by starting the day off with a ‘Cycle to school event’ which including every student and member of staff who cycled to school, 193 participants, receiving a free healthy breakfast.  This was part of our raising awareness of sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint.

Another venture for our Green Britain Day was the ‘Green Footprints’ project which was launched through assemblies with all year 7 students making a pledge to reduce their carbon footprint.   The students then wrote their pledges on ‘Green Feet’ which have made an eye-catching display around the school. 

During the day an audit of the school trees was carried out by students with the help of the Erewash Borough Council …

Read all of The Long Eaton School’s Green Britain Day

Environment
Once again the weather has been the dominant force over the summer months, with team ventures being cancelled on a number of occasions as a result of designated work areas being affected by heavy flooding, leaving unsafe conditions under foot. We have consequently failed to carry out research projects on behalf of a number of national organisations, although the information as to why we were unable to do so is of some benefit to them. The weather also caused delays in a number of our own projects with the rockery and sensory garden being shelved until next year. However, we have made contact with a local nursery and it is hoped that we can undertake a joint project …

Read all of Highland’s Update

Animals
The students were introduced to the Roots & Shoots Programme and Jane Goodall’s work in a group setting and then science and geography lessons were used to explore topics of adaptations and habitats.
An outdoor education visit was planned for Chester Zoo to investigate animal adaptations and observe the created habitats.

Educational visit to Chester Zoo 12th November 2010.
A group of students visited the zoo and took part in a workshop to learn more about animal adaptations specific to a Rainforest environment.
Live Animals
Madagascan Hissing Cockroach

 

The students discovered that the cockroach was well equipped for a life on the forest floor. It had perfect camouflage as it was exactly the same colour …

Read all of Update from St Helens

As part of a school wide project this term on water some of our students were invited to attend a whole day of workshops run by Surfers against Sewage at the National Maritime Museum.  There they looked at the damage being done to our ocean ecosystems by the waste and plastics that are dumped at Sea and how they could help in their everyday actions.

This inspired the students to arrange their own beach clean and to join the ‘Return to Offender’ campaign run by Surfers against Sewage.

At the weekend the students joined forces on a beach clean walking along three of our local beaches and collecting over three big binliners of plastic waste.  They then met up in the week at …

Read all of Surfers against Sewage and ‘Return to Offender’