Environment Council

Summer term news

Mr Herring writes:

Biodiversity in the school grounds

We have introduced two camera nesting boxes this year – one for bats and one for birds. Blue tits are nesting, and we hope to have pictures of the chicks very soon.

We have put up three large bird feeders, to attract more bird life into the grounds.  Gold finches have been spotted feeding early in the morning by Tony the gardener. 

Meat-free Mondays

In January 2010, after the Environment Council consulted everyone in the school, the kitchen staff introduced Meat-free Mondays. Sir Paul McCartney launched this campaign in 2009, to convey an ethical message about the meat industry and to highlight the real environmental impact of meat production.

Having a meat-free Monday is a simple and effective way to reduce meat consumption. The campaign has support from the United Nations Panel on Climate Change, which argues that meat production worldwide has a greater carbon footprint than the travel industry. 

Meat-free Monday is one of many projects and changes that are making Channing School more sustainable.    

Recycling day

Channing was one of the first schools in Haringey to recycle all its food waste, and today it launched a new recycling venture.  The Environment Council – a large student group led by the Sixth Form Action Team – organised today’s event.  From now on, girls and staff will be able to recycle batteries, spectacles, ink cartridges, mobile phones and clothing using facilities at school.  

Pupils and staff also wore a green item of clothing to indicate that they had taken part in the recycling scheme by bringing unwanted items to school.

The batteries will be collected by BatteryBack, who have provided a large battery barrel, removing hundreds of batteries from the waste that ends up in landfill.  The spectacles are going to Dolland & Aitchison, who will send them overseas to be reused.

Channing selected the Salvation Army to be the recipients of the clothing.  The school is very pleased to be taking action that is exactly in line with the Department of the Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affair’s Sustainable Action Plan, which aims to confront the ethical and environmental problems associated with ‘throw-away’ fashion.

The response at Channing in both the Senior and Junior schools was extremely encouraging, particularly as the event had to compete with the excitement and interest generated by the General Election results.  Many girls stayed up late into the night to watch the results come in but they still took part in the recycling launch.

Recycling is one of a number of environmental projects at Channing.  The Environment Council is working on replacing plastic cups with water bottles, introducing Fairtrade fruit and drinks, and installing a Smart Meter to monitor energy consumption.  

Water Bottles

The Environment Council’s water bottle project began earlier this term. Our aim is to reduce the number of plastic cups used each day, to the point when we can remove the plastic cups altogether.
We have surveyed Year 7 girls to find out roughly how many cups they use each day, and we will carry out a second survey to assess the impact of the new water bottles. The Year 7 survey showed that they use up to 86 cups per day, 40 of which are used only once. 
We want the school to move away from a ‘throw-away’ culture to a re-use culture. So far we have sold 60 bottles to Years 7, 8 and 9. We hope to sell a bottle to every member of the school. 

Garden news

The vegetable garden is looking very beautiful at the moment. 
Our ‘field’ of wheat is now tall and rustling in the breeze. By August, it will be golden and ready for harvesting.
The girls have planted these crops: ‘Giant Red’ mustard, ‘Green in the Snow’ mustard and Nemenia mustard, garlic, red onions, shallots, lettuce, broad beans,  peas and sweet peas, radishes, rocket, runner beans, beetroot, sweet corn, strawberries and raspberries. They have also planted wallflowers and calendula flowers.   
The peas will grow up a ‘wigwam’ of branches, making a natural lattice which is more effective and more attractive than canes.
The new vegetable bed is a permaculture construction.  The walls are woven bundles of branches, and the earth is composted straw and leaves which were first given to the chickens to root around in.  The bed will be planted with pumpkins.
We will soon be in a position to supply the school kitchens with some salad crops - organic, fresh and certainly extremely local. 

Spring Term news

The Environment Council has begun the New Year with a considerably increased membership.  All Forms are now represented on the Council, and this will mean information and project aims can be effectively shared with the whole school. 

‘Meat-Free Mondays’ was presented to the school in our assembly last November, and adopted from the beginning of this term.  The idea comes from a campaign launched by Sir Paul McCartney to raise awareness of the environmental impact of meat production. So far, it appears most members of the school have accepted this change to the week’s menu.

A permaculture raised-bed of straw

The vegetable area is continuing to develop, and this term’s new project is a permaculture straw planting bed. The straw comes from the bales used on Bonfire Night, now heavy with rain and sprouting fresh shoots of wheat. Before spreading on the bed, the straw is being given to the chickens to rummage in. By the time it is taken out of the coup it is enriched with droppings, and this helps the composting process.The bed is ‘raised’ by bundles of slender branches and twigs (‘benders’) tied tightly and woven through the stakes to create a retaining wall. Leaf compost is added to the straw to accelerate the composting process.  When the bed is ready for planting it will be used to grow pumpkins. The girls who are building this straw bed are acquiring completely new knowledge and skills, and they will have the unique experience of harvesting pumpkins from the soil they have created themselves. 

Fruit trees

There are plans to introduce more fruit trees all over the school grounds. The idea is to maximise the productive potential of the grounds while enhancing the space with blossom and fruit. The trees will be ordered before Easter and then planted in the Autumn. 

Plastic cups and water bottles

At the moment, girls use plastic cups to drink from the water dispensers, and the cups are either recycled or thrown away. The Environment Council wants the school to move to a re-use culture, to phase out the plastic cups.  We would like everyone in the school to bring a water bottle from home and refill it from one of the dispensers. The Council will be selling very inexpensive water bottles if girls do not already have one.

Fairtrade

For our work towards Green Flag status, we need to focus on the lives of people who live outside our immediate community, and outside our developed world.  The Fairtrade organisation has made us aware of how the purchasing power we have can have life-changing consequences for food producers - the people we rarely think of when we are out shopping. The Environment Council would like the school to start buying Fairtrade tea, coffee, bananas and Geobars, and we would also like to raise awareness among pupils of Fairtrade’s aims and successes.

Our other projects include improving the recycling facilities and introduce receptacles for batteries, clothes and books.  Form reps now empty classroom recycling bins into the main collection bin each week. We also want to find ways to reduce the amount of food waste, currently approximately 90kg each week. In February, Miss Wharmby presented an Environment Council assembly to the Middle School, explaining the Eco-Schools programme in depth and exploring the moral dimension of environmental thinking.  Finally, the first week in March was dedicated to Healthy Schools. There are many close links between this initiative and the work of the Environment Council. Channing is becoming healthier and more sustainable every week. 

The field of wheat and oats.

One of our garden projects last term was been the creation of a mini field, planted with wheat and oats.  This ‘field’ has been created using a permaculture process.

First, the girls cut away the large shrub that was growing beside the wall, but left the roots.  Instead of digging deep to take out the roots, the area was covered with pieces of old cardboard and then a layer of compost from the school compost heap.  This was topped with a second layer of cardboard and more compost.  The cardboard should be a barrier, preventing the original shrub growing up again.  By not disturbing the ground with deep digging, we have preserved the integrity of the soil.
  

The girls then levelled and raked the area until it was ready for sowing.  They cast the seed and then ‘tickled’ the soil with rakes, to allow the seeds to drop into the soil.  The soil was then gently patted with spades to ensure the seeds had good contact with the earth. 

The wheat appeared after only ten days, but the oats have yet to show any signs.  The crop is intended for the chickens, who have a voracious appetite for things green and tender. 
Channing has achieved the Silver Award in the eco-schools programme, and this year our aim is to gain Green Flag accreditation.  This will mean Channning becomes an eco-school, but there is a great deal to do before we are in a position to apply for the award. 

The vegetable plot

We are delighted to welcome Richard Price.  He comes with a wealth of experience from teaching gardening at Steiner schools in London and Hertfordshire. His knowledge of permaculture will take the vegetable garden in a new direction, creating a productive, diverse and beautiful space. 

Autumn planting

The cabbage is well established, and the Jerusalem artichokes are almost ready. A number of the artichokes will be left standing to give the vetch something to climb up. The vetch will be food for the chickens, and will provide excellent green manure.
We will plant winter purslane, a salad crop, English and Chinese mustard, and lamb's lettuce.  The vegetable plot will be brightened with calendula, a marigold-type flower.
We would like to plant a ‘field’ of wheat to grow a supply of food for the chickens.  As this will take a small section of the flower-bed beside the raised vegetable area, we are still at the planning stage.

Making the new compost heap

One of the first projects introduced by Richard is a compost heap against the wall beside the greenhouse.  This important feature will teach the girls about garden waste and soil quality. Richard’s aim is to close as many loops as possible, and make the garden a coherent, sustainable entity. He is keen to improve the water harvesting too, and the girls will be building the brick bases for two new water butts to catch water from the greenhouse roof. 

The chickens

We packed our chickens off on holiday last July, but unfortunately three of them had an unpleasant and rather conclusive encounter with a fox. Hattie, Belinda and Holly are remembered with affection.
We welcome Chocolate, the plucky survivor, back to the coop, and the two new chickens. Their variety names are Bluebell and Sussex White, but they have not yet been given their own names.

The Channing Eco Code

We are in the process of writing a new eco code. This will be a statement of our environmental values. It will be a pledge for the whole school community to work hard on making the school organisation more sustainable.

This year’s projects

The recycling system needs to be overhauled and re-established in all teaching rooms and staff rooms.
We are going to extend the separation of food waste throughout the school.  At the moment a lot of banana skins and apple cores are ending up in the wrong bins.
We will tackle the problem of plastic cups. Many are being thrown away instead of recycled. We might decide to look again at the possibility of banning the use of plastic cups in favour of re-usable cups and flasks. 
The Sixth Formers are researching renewable technology with a view to suggesting the installation of solar panels. We will recommend the installation of a smart meter so that energy consumption can be monitored and seen by all pupils. 
We will look at improving the natural habit in the school grounds. Sixth Formers are researching the costs of bat and bird boxes with webcams. As well as encouraging wildlife to the area, the cameras will offer opportunities to observe and study whatever takes up residence in N6.