Five more schools on way to becoming sustainable with Ashden's LESS CO2 programme

Staff from five schools joined three Ashden Award winners yesterday at Epsom Primary school, Surrey, for the final session of our pilot ‘LESS CO2’ programme.

For the past year LESS CO2 has drawn on the experience of Richard Dunne from Ashley Primary, Stephen Green from Ringmer College and Paula Owens from Eastchurch Primary – all previous Ashden Schools Award winners - to help a group of schools in Surrey reduce energy use and incorporate an ethos of sustainability throughout their schools. Yesterday's session was about motivation, feedback and reflection.

Over the past year the schools have made some impressive changes. Brookwood Primary School, for instance, has reduced its CO2 emissions by 50% and has just received its green flag. The use of the 'Current Cost' energy monitors that each school received at the start of this programme has undoubtedly had an impact.

Rachel Clack, a teacher from Epsom Primary School, said:

"Getting the pupils to track our energy use week on week has been very exciting, the pupils are asked to think about why there is such a difference during assemblies and it is used as a tool to think about topics within the classroom.... Now that we have a year's data we are at the point where we can compare our energy use with last year and I hope management will start seeing the savings."

Each school has set up an eco-team of pupils who patrol the school buildings regularly: are there computers or projectors left on? Who has been leaving lights on? Many of them employ praise and ‘name and shame’ tactics, highlighting in school assemblies those who have remembered to turn things off, the eco-heroes, and the 'carbon criminals', who haven't. The impact on behaviour around the school has also been noticed.

Rachel explains:

"I see teachers literally running back down a corridor to turn off a projector when they see the Eco-team on their rounds - they really are a formidable force within the school!"

As well as sharing their successes, at yesterday's session the schools also shared some of the obstacles they have encountered in embedding sustainability. A school is both a workplace and a learning space. It can be a problem engaging the interest of other staff, establishing sustainability as part of the school ethos, and ensuring it has a life beyond the hard work of one keen member of staff.

Each school left the last session with their own priorities for the future. South Farnborough Infants School, for example, is raising funds for solar panels on the roof. Knaphill Junior School is looking to get solar thermal panels for their outdoor swimming pool – the single biggest use of energy in the school. The biggest challenge for every primary school, however, is to find a way to engage the interest of the schools where their pupils go next. It's vital that the enthusiasm and knowledge that the children have gained is not lost when they move into secondary education.

The LESS CO2 pilot has proved very successful and we are delighted to have received funding from the Ernest Cook Trust to roll the programme out in the South West in 2011.

(Pic from left to right: Paula Owens, Stephen Green and Rachel Clack at Epsom Primary School)

See also:
LESS CO2 - Ashden Awards workshop for schools

Click here to read the rest of this post.

LESS CO2 - Ashden Awards workshop for schools

The ‘pupils’ in Owl classroom at Ashley school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey were a bit bigger than usual on Tuesday. The year fives who usually occupy the room had given up their desks for the morning so that heads, teachers and bursars from ten schools in Surrey could attend the second of the Ashden Awards ‘LESS CO2’ workshops on becoming more sustainable.

The schools are taking part in a pilot programme of workshops where Ashden Awards staff are joined by three winners of the Ashden Schools Award to share how they made their schools more energy efficient.

Eastchurch Primary, where the pupils closely monitor energy use.

Richard Dunne, head of Ashley School, Stephen Green Eco Coordinator from Ringmer Community College and Paula Owens former deputy head of Eastchurch primary all know how hard it can be to get schools and their communities on the path to energy saving – and to keep them there.

This was the second workshop and there was a real buzz in the room as school staff discussed the start they’d made on their journey to saving energy and cutting carbon. They had all carried out audits of their schools – from locating meters to assessing heating systems – and started weekly meter readings.

As well as guidance on the next steps to take, each participant received an electricity monitor which will enable them to see how much electricity they are using and monitor progress in reducing consumption over time.

Pupils at Ashley School examine graphs produced by their energy monitor.

Each of the Ashden award winners taking part are acting as ‘mentors’ for a group of three or four schools, available between workshops to answer questions and encourage them when things get difficult.

The next workshop will be in June when we will find out how much progress has been made.

Renewable energy generated at Ringmer Community College.

Click here to read the rest of this post.

Our schools can show the way to a better future

Richard Dunne, Head teacher, Ashley school, Walton On Thames, Surrey.

Climate change is an ugly problem with devastating consequences. But it is a problem based fundamentally on our use of energy and it is a problem that can be solved. Indeed climate change offers us exciting opportunities to create a better, cleaner, more sustainable model of energy practice. But it needs all of us to find the solutions; to find them in our workplace, in our schools, homes, and communities. And we must start now.

But how? Ashley School has set up committed and passionate energy teams who challenge the status quo and identify where and how we can become more energy efficient. These teams measure and analyse the school’s energy use, and set tough targets that engage our communities in energy saving. We know from experience that these energy reduction initiatives need to be supported through grant funding programmes – which ideally should be sourced by a carbon tax – so that site-specific renewable energy technologies can be installed.

Most importantly, we recognise and reward our successes. In our school we are proud to have reduced our electricity consumption by nearly 80% in two years and our heating consumption by close to 30%. With creativity and commitment it can be done and we whole-heartedly encourage others to do the same – we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Read more Voices on Copenhagen

Ashley CofE Primary School, Walton on Thames in Surrey was joint winner of the UK Schools Ashden Award 2009. The school takes a pioneering approach to energy saving by setting targets to reduce energy consumption both inside the school and at home.

View the Ashden Awards video of Ashley school:

Click here to read the rest of this post.

Ashley School: Inspire Alpine expedition

Ashley Primary School, a 2009 Ashden Award winner, has recently been on its Inspire Alpine expedition, travelling by train to Chamonix to learn about well-being at an individual, group and global level.
They spent several days in beautiful scenery
and even visited a glacier while learning about how climate change is affecting ice in the world
You can read all about it on their blog.

Click here to read the rest of this post.