26 June 2008
Green pupils at a Comprehensive School in Caerphilly are celebrating after earning the right to fly the prestigious 'green flag' in recognition of their efforts to become a more environmentally friendly school.
St Martins Comprehensive has become the 25th school in the Caerphilly county borough to achieve the impressive Eco Schools Green Flag status.
In order to gain the flag, schools must set up a pupil-led 'eco committee,' complete an environmental review and decide on actions to improve sustainability at the school further.
Comments from the assessors who visited St Martins School last week included, "a truly amazing secondary school, excellent school grounds with great biodiversity focus, brilliant whole school participation and communication between departments. The eco ethos is truly embedded in the school."
Twenty five local schools have now achieved green flag status, which is an impressive landmark illustrating the dedication of the schools in the area to improve their sustainability. Out of the 93 schools registered for the scheme, 71 have achieved an award to date, broken down into 25 green flag awards, 24 silver awards and 22 bronze awards.
CCBC Cabinet Member for the Environment, Cllr Lyn Ackerman, said, "I'd like to congratulate St Martins and all the other schools that are working so hard to make a real difference to the environment. The Eco Schools scheme is an excellent way for pupils to learn about sustainability from an early age and I hope these important lessons will stay with them for the rest of their lives."
Eco Schools is a whole school project that supports the delivery of education for sustainable development and global citizenship in both primary and secondary schools.
There are 8 topics that schools can tackle under the scheme covering waste minimisation, litter, school grounds, transport, healthy living, global citizenship, energy and water. By establishing eco committees the pupils become the driving force for environmental improvement through their school and local community, involving staff, parents, governors and local community groups.
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