Make your School Greener: Royal Forestry Society Competition

To promote environmental awareness and tree preservation, the Royal Forestry Society is currently running quite a good competition for schools, in which they can show off their green fingers (and green lessons) for the chance to win £1,000. Entries can include practical outdoor lessons, like Forest School, or classroom based activities that teach the children about the forest industry and the importance of trees.

The competition is free to enter and all you need to do is send some examples of your students work into the RFS, with any relevant videos or photos relating to the project. You can reach the competition page here and if you do decide to enter then we would love to see some examples of your student’s work, so feel free to post them onto our Facebook page.

Whilst we are on the subject of green living, I thought it might be nice to think about how we can make our schools more environmentally friendly, so here are some top tips…

1) Recycle: Spend some time studying the impact we have had on the planet and explain why recycling is so important. Nominate a ‘recycling monitor’ on a basis to make sure everything is put in the correct bin and taken out on the correct day.

2) Energy: Try and reduce the amount of electricity you use at school by using the Carbon Detective Kit, you can even compare your usage to other schools and encourage the children to make it into a competition – who can be the greenest?

3) Travel: Encourage more children to walk and cycle to school by organising a walking bus for pupils that live in the nearby area. This will be beneficial for the children, who will have more exercise, and the adults, who can set up a rota system and save more time in the mornings. Have a look at the Walk to School movement for more inspiration.

4) The Green Awards: Take part in the 7 step programme by Eco-Schools to help address any areas where your school can improve environmentally and work towards your Bronze, Silver and Gold eco status.

Outdoors programmes: Encourage the children to take care of their school by organising litter-picking and involving them in gardening or preservation activities around the school.

If you want any more helpful advice on making your school more eco-friendly then The Pod is a brilliant programme run by EDF Energy designed to help schools be more aware of their carbon footprint. We also have some lovely environmental posters that you can use in your classroom to help teach about the importance of being green.