Caerphilly County Schools Play Their Part For World Environment Day

It’s World Environment Day on Sunday 5th June and Caerphilly County Borough Council is celebrating the achievements of the schools, within the borough, who have worked tirelessly to achieve Green Flag status. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Our schools have been busy working towards the Eco School Award Programme with every school achieving an Eco School Award. At present, 66 schools (73%) hold their first Eco School Green Flag to show they’re recognised as a sustainable school. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Overall 10 schools have achieved their 2nd Green Flag, 20 schools are on their 3rd Green Flag and a total of 22 schools have attained their 4th Green Flag, which is a the prestigious Platinum award. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Award Scheme is a way for pupils to learn about their environment and how they can apply their knowledge to their daily routine. It involves members of the school community, including pupils, staff and governors working together to develop plans to set and achieve realistic targets to improve their sustainability. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Rhiw Syr Dafydd Primary is just one of the schools who recently received their second Green Flag Award for their work with environmental projects. The school, with the help of the pupils, dug the school flower beds and planted a variety of spring flowers. They also worked on other eco projects such as recycling plastic bottles, installing gates to encourage responsible parking and continued their charity work which included the ‘keep a child warm’ campaign. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Within the county borough all schools are entitled to a free compost bin with a handbook teaching them how to use it. These are used to recycle items such as fruit, vegetables peelings, grass, paper and small amounts of cardboard. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Schools have also taken part in the battery recycling initiative, which is in partnership with European Recycling Platform (ERP). Pupils bring in their used household batteries to be recycled. The initiative has turned into a competition with each school now battling to win exciting prizes at an award ceremony at the end of the school year. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Other initiatives that have been adopted include nominating monitors to ensure electrical appliances, lights and water taps are turned off, as well as the growing of their own fruit and vegetables. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr Ken James, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Sustainable Development said, “These lessons, projects and awards are vital for our future generation to understand the importance of looking after our environment. We as a borough take tremendous pride in our environment and I hope we carry on our efforts to make Caerphilly a better place to live, work and visit in the future. Thank you to all the schools for their support and I look forward to hearing about upcoming projects that are carried out.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​