By Alissa Malpass, Year 8
Climate Change is on everybody's mind at the moment. And as the UK gears up to host the crucial COP26 Climate Change Summit in Glasgow, our Science Bloggers at Darwen Vale have been thinking about how we as a school can become more eco-friendly. Here, Alissa Malpass, Year 8, shares some great ideas on becoming an Eco-friendly school.
Reducing paper waste
School would not be school without the use of lots of paper. It is something that we have taken for granted for years, however the use of too much paper is not sustainable. The issues include unsustainable tree farms there are producing this paper, and also - importantly - the carbon dioxide omissions from the mass production of all of this paper to keep up with current demands. And although paper use is decreasing, it is not happening fast enough.
Darwen Vale is starting to make some changes, for example setting more online homework where possible, and sending letters home via email, but we can still do more. For instance, teachers can ask students to draw graphs and diagrams, rather than sticking things in their books. Another idea is to reduce the use of paper waste at lunchtimes and breaktimes, as the amount of them that are being thrown away at the end of the day is unreal!
As a student, I would like to see more recycling bins around school, and in the classroom a simple tub where scrap paper can be used again, either for notes or to doodle on every once in a while!
Reducing our carbon footprint
Although we don't typically worry about the affect all of our actions take on the world all of the time, if you had a serious look at it, you would be shocked. Take a look at ' School carbon emissions in England are on the rise | University of Cambridge which explores carbon omissions in schools.
Some ways to reduce the carbon footprint of your school could be switching off all lights and computers before everyone leaves, and maybe turning down the air conditioning. Teachers could have more plants in rooms where possible, plus, they look really nice!
An idea would be perhaps fundraising for the school to install solar panels, so that our light and other electricity can come from a sustainable source, which leaves a smaller carbon footprint than fossil fuels.
Food waste and litter
Food waste is a huge issue. Many people take for granted the access they have to the food that they eat on a daily basis.
At schools, a huge amount of food is wasted every day. We could tackle this by having compost bins for school gardens, or donating compost to local farmers, which helps your local community!
Littering is an issue everywhere. People being careless about their rubbish, and sometimes people even just cant be bothered to walk to a bin! People should be educated about how this is an issue, especially the damage to wildlife and the environment should be taught.
Explaining to the school as a whole as how their carelessnes is easy to overcome by simply dropping your waste of at a bin could change the way the school looks (cleaner and well kept) and feels a cleaner and nicer place to be. Littering is one of those issues which can be easily solved, if people just put their rubbish in the bin!
If you have any other ideas about how we can become an Eco-School, let us know, or come and write a Science Blog!
