Last Thursday, JYS primary school put on its very first ‘Green Day’. It was a ‘non-uniform’ day, but instead of dressing up in their finest, pupils and staff were invited to come to school in an item of clothing that was second-hand, pre-loved, passed-down, repaired or that had travelled the fewest ‘clothes miles’ from the place of manufacture to wearing.
During the day, each class took part in activities to promote looking after our planet. Year R looked at recycling. Year 1 did a carousel of activities inspired by the Michael Foreman book ‘Hello Mr World’, including looking at how they’d travelled to school, planting in the school grounds, and weighing pens collected for recycling. Year 2 read Emily Gravett’s book ‘Tidy’, and looked at woodlands and the importance of ‘mess’ for wildlife habitats.
Year 3 examined the water footprints of various items and services, whilst Year 4 looked at carbon footprints, discovering that our carbon and water footprints extend well beyond the UK and even Europe. Years 5 and 6 had workshops on the impact of fast fashion, by Carrie Cort of Sussex Green Living. At the end of the day, pupils shared what they’d learned in an extended assembly.
The day was very popular, and we hope to do it all again soon. If you are a teacher and would like to discuss, or to share our resources for free, please email through contact@ecochi.org.uk.
There are other resources on the Schools and Colleges page of this website, and we hope to add more over the coming weeks. If you know of others, or are willing to share your own, please do get in touch!