Eco-Committee bursting with green ideas

It was wonderful to gather our Eco-Committee members together for their first meeting of the Spring Term. With members ranging from Year 1 to Year 6, it is also a special meeting. The interaction between pupils of different ages is always impressive to observe.

The meeting kicked off with Mr Stigant running through the key points from the last Eco-Committee meeting, which was held last term. Previously pupils had discussed installing an Owl House and Bat Box. Mr Stigant confirmed that these had now been sourced. Ollie B has been co-opted onto the committee and will lead on making King’s Hawford more hedgehog-friendly. Last term the committee were keen to look at getting beehives installed on campus.

First up on today’s agenda was the topic of biodiversity. Pupils discussed the best places to locate the new Bat Box and Owl House, ways to make the campus more hedgehog-friendly, the option of installing a growing wall by the aviary and the need to replant the biodiversity beds. The committee were full of ideas and have suggested purchasing wildlife cameras for the School, building a pond on the Top Field near the Jubilee Tree and planting more trees around the School via the Woodland Trust.

The committee then moved on to discussing global citizenship. The children were excited at the prospect of another climate protest. There was plenty of positive feedback from the Project Gambia update assembly at the end of last term. Pupils felt that having Bev Hodt show them first-hand the impact their fundraising has made was extremely beneficial. The children are keen to run a sponsored event later in the year to raise more money for charity.

The final topic of discussion was well-being. The Eco-Committee are keen for the School to enter a well-being Award and have been asked to come up with ideas on what can be done to support pupil well-being. Some early ideas include the installation of a buddy bench or chill-out space and a duvet day at the end of half term to include a mindfulness session.

Mr Stigant was very impressed with all members of the committee and the ideas that they generated. The older pupils were brilliant at including the younger members of the committee and ensuring that their ideas were heard.