Babington College Update

Green School AwardThis award was given to the students and staff of Babington College for their participation in planting trees and shrubs over the year. We have planted 460 hawthorn, oak and blackthorns on the field, plus 33 fruit trees. In the woodland we planted cherry, chestnut, dogwood, rowan, poplar and maple trees. Some of the tree planting was done on a Saturday last year and we would like to thank the staff and their families for giving up their spare time. The work is continuing. 

Second part of the tree planting project

Planting shrubsAs part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, students completed a planting session for their assignment in environmental awareness, by planting 24 hawthorn bushes around the school site. This will introduce more diversity of plants and animals, which will use them as a food resource. The students also passed their criteria for health and safety on working with tools. Nature project – Christmas Challenge – planting shrubs for the woodlandOn the last day of term, students were invited to plant a hawthorn tree on the edge of the woodland. This was to build a natural barrier to stop rubbish blowing into the area and most importantly to create a food source for animals. The shrubs were planted with labels which students wrote their names on. The labels were made from plastic milk bottles. Many thanks to Vicky (EMAS), Justin Kent and Mrs Bee for their help organising and the digging.Orchard ProjectBabington College are proud owners of an orchardThis project was done by members of staff at Babington. Due to the heavy digging needed for the trees, the students were not involved in the planting, but will take on the responsibilities of harvesting and pruning. The orchard includes apples, pears, plums and Bramley apples. We would like to thank Justin Kent, James Lillystone, Vicky Belcham (EMAS) and Ray Allsop for their help. The growing beds are ready to grow some food. Here we are planting the first crops. Students planted winter onions so that they are ready for spring. They planted two varieties, red and white.  Building our GreenhouseAfter collecting 1500 bottles, students cut each bottle to the right size (mostly provided from the exams) and the building of the decks; the students are ready to complete the bottle greenhouse. The bottle greenhouse was one of the challenges set from the green day event in 2010. The greenhouse will be used to sow seeds early and grow vegetables that only can be grown in a greenhouse allowing most choice of vegetables for the catering and technology department.  Amphibian surveysSenior Conservation officer, Neil Talbot of Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust surveyed areas of Babington site for Amphibians. We have brown crested news living in the peace garden and some staff recently noticed a toad. We observed the woodlands, but did not find anything, but that’s not to say this are no amphibians. It was only 5^oC, so not perfect weather for amphibians. We have arranged to meet up again to survey amphibians late in the evening when they are most active. Neil did give some expert advice on how to look after the amphibians. Report on Conservation workshop We had a great day the students were really keen, so much so that we forgot to have a tea break.The first task was understanding the hazard and risks in a woodland setting. A number of students already knew this and were able to help the students who did not. We then went on to tool safety (saws, loppers, clippers). Two students knew about the risks and were able to show the students who did not.They cleared the area by the classroom, cut down invasive species such as ash trees; they used the spoils to create a nesting place for small mammals, for the winter months. This was done mainly by the boys. Emits was really apprehensive at the start of this project, but he turned out to be a great team leader. The girls cleared the pathways of ivy that had overgrown in some areas; they found it hard work, but were elated when they looked back at what they achieved. Natalie was a natural at sawing down dead tree stomps; even though she had never done this before.They really like doing the bird feeders, mixing the food with their hands and learning why they need fats and seeds especially in winter and using recyclable materials. They observed the changes happening in the woodland, learning about the colour of leaves and wrote it down in their booklets. Rebecca built a camp fire and the students had hot chocolate drink.The students learnt about manual handling: planning, position, moving and lowering. The boys came up with their own strategy in the end, rolling the logs to the site where they needed to be placed.We would to thank Rebecca (EMAS) and Mr J Taylor for their help on this day.Woodland event 3rd of March 2012 19 students attended the 'Creation of habitats for animals and plants workshop'.Talk on Health and safety of equipment and risk assessment on woodlands and the allotment Firstly, creating a 'Bug Hotel' , The students learnt the importance of minibeasts and how these invertebrates help soil structure, a link in the food web. Creating a bug house allows different species to lay eggs, hibernate or hide from predators. They also learnt how to recycling materials from the woodland to create a bug house, which can be applied to their own gardens.Secondly, creating a 'Herb garden' in using old car tyres, the students learned to use recycle material and importance of herbs, not only as a food source but a commodity and their uses in medicines. Planting potatoes and creating a wigwam structure for broad beans.Lastly, using skills and knowledge gained to answers questions in their booklets, and a certificate.All students worked well together, some students were able to apply knowledge learnt either in the classroom or at home, and they completed all tasks. The senor of the students is that they would do it again and even though it was hard work they enjoyed the experience.Mini-bug HotelEco-club created a pictorial key to show woodland mini-beasts, as part of their learning from building a ‘bug hotel’ in their woodland. Eco Christmas school project Aim: To create a poster on having an eco-friendly Christmas. The members had to create a poster on how to reduce wastage at Christmas. There was 10 top tips given. The students then printed their posters on paper that was used before.This poster was put to around the school to encourage students to employ an Eco Christmas. Eco-Club planting poppy seeds for the new school – 7/5/14Students learned about the poppy plant and why it has become a symbol of Remembrance Day. The poppy plant is a natural food resource for many insects including bees. Babington allotment formation – September 2014Below is the allotment full of weeds.The Eco-warriors quickly save some pallets from the rubbish to use as strawberry containers when spring time comes. Weeds being cleared, vegetable beds are placed and pathways being constructed.Our polytunnel is being constructed and compost bin is being used by the canteen staff.Recycling clothes Classroom recyclingOne of our BEC (Babington Environment Club) members created a posterPlease save your Bottle Tops As part of the Eco-school programme Mrs Sally Carter encouraged students to collect milk bottle top and pop bottles tops for 'lush' to be recycled into soap dishes. Most of the milk bottle tops was collect on the behalf of Beavers club to be used in Gambia schools for counters in maths.The collection of bottle tops was mainly through lunch times when students had finished with their pop bottles, and then given to Mrs Carter and the two students. Since November 2013 to June 2014 they manage to collect over 5000 bottle tops.The Eco-CodeOur eco-code is our mission statement. It demonstrates — in a positive, clear and imaginative way — our school's commitment to improving our environmental performance. The BEC team was involved in creating an Eco-Code that would represent the whole school:Here are some of the creations: We carried out an assembly on litter to raise awareness of the problems