The Schools at Somerhill Eco Club

ECO SCHOOLS

The Schools at Somerhill are taking part in the Eco Schools programme. Following a very successful Green week run in both Yardley Court and Derwent Lodge, SAS have reached the standard for a Silver Award.  

These are some of the criteria fulfilled to reach this standard.

•    Formation of an action team which includes members of senior management, teaching and non-teaching staff, parents and children which meets at least once a term
•    Completion of a formal environmental review
•    Completion of a transport survey
•    Formation of an action plan with significant progress demonstrated on elements of the action plan
•    Running of an eco club, wildlife supporters club and gardening club
•    Agreement on an ‘Eco-code’ for the Schools at Somerhill

The three schools are now working towards the Green Flag Award and we are currently focussing on encouraging a lot more car sharing.   Not only will this ease congestion on the drive way, but it will help reduce carbon emissions, save on petrol and save money too!

Eco Week 27th April to 1st May

Derwent Lodge began Eco week with an assembly from Mrs Huntingford.  She told the girls that all the rainwater is collected from the new dining room and swimming pool and recycled within the building as grey water in the loos!   The new building also has a ‘green roof’, and a new eco garden is being established to encourage as many  butterflies and bees as possible, plus lots of colour!   Thank you to the parents association for helping us start off the garden and for providing new composting bins.  

Yardley Court also had a really interesting ECO Week, one of the highlights being a Bird Of Prey talk by visitor Mr Holmes. He brought in Xena, a rather large female Harris Hawk, and told us about where she comes from, her place in the ECO system, her feeding habits and her hunting prowess. She was a magnificent sight, and we particularly enjoyed her squawking at what seemed to be just the right moment!

Year 3 had a wonderful day out at Ockham farm as part of Eco week.  After learning about the farmhouse with its very own priest hole, they explored the land around; minibeast hunting in the ancient woodland still awash with bluebells, looking for tadpoles and feeding ducklings and swans in the pond, and finding out all about lambing – the last of the lambs this spring had just been born.  Thank you Mrs Cooper for inviting us again!

We are so lucky at Somerhill to have such wonderful grounds and in Eco week Year 5 and 6 spent time in the gardens to inspire them for their creative writing.  Year 5 have made some leaflets persuading their readers to support the renovation of the garden of memory. 

The Eco Action Group, which met earlier in April, have identified this as our next project as we move towards the Green Flag Award. 

School council asked that we recycle our left over fruit peelings and so this was the week we introduced a new system to start composting.