Climate Change & Sustainability Action At TBSHS
Inspired by COP26, TBSHS has sought to engage with action on climate change and sustainability in new ways.
Above: Climate Change Conference and Tiny Forest 6-month progress observation. (Click on each photo to view)
Empower
We developed our initial strategy based on a survey that engaged over 1000 members of the school community. This enabled us to assess our understanding of issues and set priorities; the survey now runs bi-annually.
We seek to ensure student-voice drives our priorities and actions via the Climate Committee which meets every term; the committee is chaired by sixth-form students and is comprised of representatives from each form group. A separate sixth-form committee is run by students themselves.
A staff committee meets every half-term and we have started to engage teachers through CPD.
Educate
Climate change and sustainability are a core part of our Geography, Science, DT and Citizenship lessons and an increasing number of subjects are striving to make links; we aim to ensure students leave school ready to fully engage with our rapidly-changing world.
Assemblies throughout the year focus often on related topics, with a special assembly each year marking COP, when live-lessons are also broadcast to whole year groups.
A special section on ‘climate and sustainability’ is being developed in our library and thanks to the PTFA, we have funding for 50 new books!
Thanks to Earthwatch, we supported the planting of a ‘Tiny Forest’ next to our new school and look forward to nurturing its growth as an ‘outdoor classroom’.
Act
Over the last two years, we have introduced a number of initiatives designed to reduce our carbon footprint and the amount of waste we are sending to landfill e.g.
- Classroom paper and playground can recycling
- A ban on single-use plastic bottles
- Food waste recycling (biodigester) from the dining hall
- A reduction in the amount of beef on the menu
- Encouraging car-sharing and walking to school
Looking ahead
We are incredibly excited about the move to our new school in September 2024, complete with solar panels and electric car-charging, which will offer new opportunities for teaching and learning.
Termly updates can be found in The Mitre!
