Year Of The Environment

For Schools

Liverpool’s Year of the Environment in 2009 is a great time to enrich the school learning experience with more environmental education. Education plays an important part in understanding how our actions can affect the environment, how we can change our habits, and ‘do our bit’ to conserve the environment.

The Environmental Services team at Liverpool City Council (LCC) produces a range of leaflets that provide information on the services we offer, and how recycling collections work in the city.

We have approximately 180 schools in the area and most of these schools participate in the recycling service offered free by LCC. The team provides advice and support to schools wishing to become more environmentally friendly, and LCC also has a comprehensive range of activities delivered by the Park Rangers that supports environmental education.

During the spring of 2009, all schools in the city will receive a free environmental education pack, produced by LCC. The pack contains activities, information, a CD-Rom and a DVD to help schools achieve a greener status.

Around 75% of schools in the city are registered under the Eco-Schools scheme, an internationally recognised awards programme for schools. The awards are graded bronze, silver and Green Flag status, and the Environmental Services team can offer advice to any school wishing to progress through the scheme.

For further information on environmental education, please contact:
E-mail: EcoSchools@liverpool.gov.uk.
Phone: 0151 225 4616.

Examples of school pledges

In the near future teachers and students will be able to make environmental pledges on this website to commit to changing their environmental habits and to record progress. In the meantime the following are examples of pledges that staff or pupils could consider making.

I work at a Liverpool school, and I pledge to:

• Organise a waste free lunch.
• Switch off lights if I am the last to leave a room.
• Switch to using recycled paper for all our office needs.
• Ensure electrical equipment is switched off and not left on standby.
• Assist in helping the school gain Eco-Schools status.
• Carry out an energy audit.
• Begin recycling or composting kitchen waste from the canteen.

I am a young person attending a Liverpool school, and I pledge to:

• Switch off the tap after washing my hands.
• Not leave the tap running whilst brushing my teeth.
• Ask my parents/guardian to use re-usable shopping bags.
• Ask my parents/guardian to switch to energy saving light bulbs.
• Recycle my comics or magazines.
• Re-use plastic water bottles.
• Walk to school whenever I can.
• Use both sides of paper.
• Ask my teacher to do some recycled art classes.
• Put my rubbish in a bin or take it home with me.
• Become involved in the Eco-Schools programme at my school.