Two pupils from School

Jane Dalton, Admin Officer, was aware that of the 47 or 48 bags of rubbish that were put out for the Monday collection, only 3 or 4 were recycling bags; Helen Kitson, in her role as Support Assistant, had realised that children had very little idea of what could and what could not be recycled and they just put everything in the classroom black bag.

So, they got together and set up the Marchwood Junior School ‘Green Team’.

In consultation with the Headteacher and staff, they asked teachers to hold class elections for two Green Team Monitors from each class. Elections were run on similar lines to the already well-established School Council class elections.

Children were keen to get involved and soon the Green Team Monitors and their monthly Green Team meetings with Jane and Helen were really making a difference. Every meeting has a clear focus and minutes are produced and circulated to every class as soon as possible after each meeting.

A permanent Green Team display board in a prominent position in a main corridor also carries the agendas and minutes for all to see along with a lot of topical ‘Green’ info!

So, what’s happening with the Marchwood Green Team five years on and how successful has the Green initiative been?

• The Green Team monitors still meet about once a month to decide what they need to do. Seasonal issues determine at least part of their work each month as well as the ongoing duties associated with recycling and energy and water conservation. Formal minutes are produced, circulated throughout the school and discussed in class groups during the month;
  
  
• The monitors continue to remind children and staff not only to recycle properly, but also to turn lights off, shut the doors, turn taps off after use etc etc. The monitors’ remit has extended beyond the original aim of the team;
  
  
• There is a green ‘’Recycling Box’ in every classroom, workroom and office. (HCC are targeted to achieve 50% of household waste recycled by 2010. Largely due to the efforts of the Green Team over the last 5 years, the school has already reached this target);
  
  
• There is a green bin near the playground doors to receive the fruit and vegetable waste from pupils’ healthy playtime snacks. The bin is emptied daily by the Green Team monitors into one of the five large composters in the school grounds;
  
  
• The Green Team display board is kept up to date with the team’s activities and other topical information;
  
  
• The Green Team has registered on the ‘Recycle for Hampshire’ website and is currently ninth in the league table;
  
  
• They have invited their local Recycling Officer into school to talk to all pupils at a school assembly;
  
  
• They met with a representative from Southern Water to talk about the smells which emanate from the local water treatment works;
  
  
• They have helped to set up ‘in-school’ recycling centres for old printer cartridges and mobile phones brought from home;
  
  
• They have persuaded staff to photocopy on both sides of a sheet of paper whenever possible;
  
  
• They have asked office staff to purchase recycled paper products including loo rolls, as much as possible;
  
  
• The school’s parent-run Gardening Club also complements the green efforts of the Green Team (as well as making every effort to work towards being a ‘sustainable school’) by composting huge amounts of garden waste, capturing rainwater for future watering activities, recycling and re-using logs for a variety of purposes including edging for flowerbeds, using old tyres as plant pots etc.

A very active and influential Green Team and a very green Gardening Club! Both keep going from strength to strength!

More recently, Marchwood Junior School has been pleased to work closely with Marchwood Parish Council’s ‘Community Planning Team’.In turn, the Plan is closely linked to ‘Every Child Matters’ and the ‘Sustainable Schools’ initiative.

Close involvement with the survey of public opinion and the Community Plan is helping to raise the children’s awareness of a wide range of local issues (traffic, travel, local needs, etc) especially the environmental, ‘green’ aspects which are so important to the village of the future. Waste management, pollution, heavy traffic, tree planting, litter, dog waste and the smell from the sewage works are just some of the issues in which our children are  actively involved !