ECO Page

What is ‘Eco’ at Cottesmore ?

The word ‘Eco’ means ‘to not harm the environment’, and as a Catholic school we pledge to be ambassadors of God’s beautiful creation. This is why environmental learning is threaded through all subjects of the school curriculum and enriched by Forest School, Beach School and Outdoor learning.
The Cottesmore approach empowers the children to learn, discuss and react to what is happening in their world. We reverse Eco-anxiety by turning it into Eco-empathy and offer a forum where children see their suggestions put into practice. Every child and staff member has a voice and we respect all opinions.

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Why is Carbon Literacy important in Primary schools ?

‘Our house is on fire!’

Greta Thunberg 2019

Our pupils will have a deep understanding of Climate change and the impact of our choices on our world. Our Carbon Literacy curriculum educates and empowers our children, so they will reach senior school demanding a higher level of environmental education and action. In turn, they will move on to university demanding higher standards and questioning more. Ultimately, they will become our leaders and business people of the future making better choices, demanding environmentally conscious decisions and taking active participation in protection of our planet.
Greta Thunberg was only 15 when she began her Friday protests outside the Swedish parliament.
It is never too young to begin.

Poster by Eva - Year 3

Our Carbon Literacy Curriculum – Our City, Our World.

Over the last year Cottesmore have taken part in the pilot of ‘Our City, Our World’, a project supporting introduction of climate change and sustainability into the school curriculum. This is ground-breaking work and with be passed on to all schools within the Local Authority. What this means in the day-to-day of the school, is that we use every subject to teach about the environment in an inspiring and empowering way, no longer relying on just science to cover this huge topic. For example; English uses environmental activists for inspired writing and debate, RE reflects the protection of Gods great creation in all areas, EPR highlights the need for balance between humans and their environment, Geography shows how farming and industry impact the environment, History shows how the Stone Age, Greeks, Romans and Victorians dealt with climate change and the impact they had.

In Science, we have dedicated the second half of the Summer term to Carbon Literacy, in order to cover some of the specific learning and engage the children in practical environmental activities.
We have also held meetings and supported all our Newman family of schools across the Deanery and shared our assemblies and School Development Plans and curriculum planning.

The Cottesmore Eco Committee

Each year group has two elected Eco committee members. They meet regularly to discuss suggestions made by their classmates via the Eco suggestion box in each class. Their duties also involve being Eco ambassadors to save electricity and water around the school.

Suggestion Box by Alice - Year 5

Cottesmore against Fast Fashion

Last year the Eco committee took part in two environmental workshops and learned about the problems caused by micro fibre in fleece getting into the water system and the problems caused by throw away fashion in shops like Primark and on line. They also found that school uniform with logos cannot be recycled. Immediately after the workshop, the committee held a meeting and invited Mrs Breen to ask whether there could be changes made to the school uniform to make it more environmentally friendly. They all agreed that the fleece and the logo on the blue PE shirt should be removed from the uniform list. Mrs Breen actioned this and the committee saw how their voices make a difference. These items may now be used only if they are second hand.

Eco workshop on Brighton Seafront. ‘Eco Warriors’

How you can help?

Any parent who works in a company or industry where there is a healthy environmental policy would be very welcome to share this information with our children, we are always looking for inspiring visitors.
We are also very keen to hear from any parents wishing to share their gardening or environmental skills in a practical way in school. As with Forest School, we are always looking for resources and skilled advice.

Environmental projects

With the help of Sussex Wildlife Trust, Cottesmore began work on their ‘City Meadow’ in Spring last year. They had to remove the grass from an area of the field and sow wildflower seeds across the area.The idea of a city meadow is to imitate the surrounding South Downs landscape and provide a highway through the city for pollinators to travel from one meadow to another.
All year groups worked hard on creating the meadow and saw the beautiful results in the summer months. They also had an opportunity to count the butterflies, wasps and bees they saw.

Composting project

Year 1 took part in a composting workshop that taught them what compost is, how detritivores break down the waste food and what can and cannot be composted.They then persuaded the kitchen staff to collect all the vegetable pieces in a compost bin and promised to collect the bags twice a week. Every week in Forest School the pupils are supervised as they chop up the vegetable waste to speed up the compost process. This teaches them about what waste composts well, encourages them to compost at home and teaches them safe use of kitchen knives.

Pollinator workshop.

Year 2 took part in a pollinator workshop where they learned how the pollination process works. They learned about the proboscis and how pollen is transferred from plant to plant by acting as pollinators themselves.

Pollinator Workshop - Year 2

Vegetable patch and food waste.

The children have had many opportunities in Forest School and in lunchbreaks, to plant, weed and harvest vegetables, helping them to understand how food is grown, the importance of pollinators to their food and how good home-grown organic food tastes.
The Eco committee have embarked on a project to reduce food waste from school lunches. They have appealed to pupils to eat more school lunches rather than packed lunch due to the plastic, but also to make vegetarian choices and eat everything on their plate. Last term they weighed the waste after lunch and aim to reduce it over the next academic year.

Recycling

We have recycling boxes in every classroom, however our pledge does not stop there. We also recycle pens and glue sticks. We have also made huge efforts to reduce the amount of paper used in class by using folders in maths and fewer worksheets in all other subjects.

Wellbeing and the Environment.

Our wellbeing and the health of the Planet are closely linked. If we pollute the oceans and countryside we understand that our own health suffers. During lockdown, many people turned to nature to support their wellbeing and the trend continues. At Cottesmore, we turn Eco-anxiety into Eco-empathy, making it an outward emotion of caring about our world by empowering our pupils to know they have a voice and we are listening.

At Cottesmore, we enrich the lives and learning of our pupils by providing access to Forest School and Beach school to all year groups. The children learn to love and interact within the environment and locality of where they live. If they love their countryside and oceans, they will protect and care for it in the future.

Loving our ‘Living Coast’ with Beach School.

Part of the Primary Curriculum is to study the geography of the local area. In Brighton we are blessed with both the South Downs and the English Channel, known worldwide as ‘The Living Coast’.
As part of year 2-5 curriculum, our children will have the opportunity to take part in Beach School, run by Brighton Beach School on Ovingdean beach. Their experience begins with transport on the local bus, both an environmental and cost based decision. They arrive at the Ovingdean underpass just outside Brighton and walk through looking at and dicussing all the creatures they may spot either on the Downs or the Living Coast. Their sessions always include rock-pooling, an outright favourite, which leads to identification of creatures and seaweeds, capturing of crabs, shrimps, whelks and anything else that moves. They learn about the habitat, to care for the creatures, be gentle lifting rocks and to place the animals back quickly, where they found them. Other sessions include observing and discussing the tide, currents and moon, creating images, shapes and structures using natural materials, and preserving our local area by cleaning the beach and discussing items found in the strand-line.

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Not only are sessions based on team-work and co-ordination, but they are physical and informative. Children learn beach safety, what to do in an emergency and how to look after themselves and their area of beauty. Learning outside has been scientifically acknowledged as a way forward for education and wellbeing, it offers a wholly inclusive approach and stimulates the children in their vocabulary and imaginations. Read the attached recent Guardian article on how Blue Spaces, benefit children in later life.

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