Capturing the Green Flag

After achieving an Eco-Schools Bronze Award in the Autumn Term and subsequently the scheme’s Silver Award in the Spring, the Fryer and Sixth Form Eco Clubs have come full circle, successfully completing the Green Flag Award! The highly respected and internationally recognised award has allowed students to formally reflect on significant work occurring on the Park and focus attention on future action.

Ruth Mills (Upper Sixth) remarked, “Aaaah, I cannot believe we actually did it! The culmination of close to three years of work: amazing job guys!” Izzy Jones (Upper Sixth) followed “Incredible news. So glad all our efforts have paid off. Couldn’t have done it without all of Oliver’s hard work and effort.”

Led by Sustainability Co-Ordinator, Oliver Staines, the group have dedicated the past year to completing the ‘Seven Steps’ aimed at improving environmentalism. After securing Bronze and Silver, to capture the Green Flag itself, students are required to monitor and evaluate the changes they have informed and implemented, as well as reflect on their eco-code. The Eco Club have done a tremendous job of documenting and continually reflecting on their progress through photos, transport surveys, biodiversity counts, waste audits and more.

Oliver commented, “There is so much thoughtful action and activity that goes on unseen at the School, it is great to have been able to work towards something that in some small way will draw attention to this and show students how they too can be involved in making change happen.”

Karyn Fullerton from Keep Britain Tidy praised “…thank you for continuing to work on your Eco-Schools Green Flag during these unprecedented times – it is a true reflection of your school’s determination to make a real difference.”

A great deal has been achieved this term, most notably the School’s inaugural Sustainability Week in which Year 7 to 9 progressed a number of environmental initiatives and ecological projects on the Park. Most impressively, as students documented the milestone, collecting interviews and footage throughout the week, it was clear that the whole community and in particular Fryer, were aware of the importance of a culture of sustainability. Emily, Eva, Joseph and Daniel in Year 7 noted “the chain effect” of important events such as Sustainability Week and highlighted the actions they were also taking in their personal lives.

Additionally, eight students from the Lower and Upper Sixth spent two days with Bill Finnegan, Graduate Researcher at the University of Oxford’s School of Geography and the Environment. In the workshop students created digital stories penning future letters to themselves, predicting what life will be like in 2050.

In discussion with Oliver after the event, students agreed on the benefits of being given the time and space to reflect on the profound importance of the climate crisis, beyond merely having knowledge of it, and understanding the importance of positivity in communicating with people about climate crisis action.

This term, Fryer Eco Club have focused on championing the work of innovative company TerraCycle; a global leader in reprocessing hard-to-recycle materials. In a bid to ensure no crisp packet needlessly goes to landfill, they installed seven recycling points around the Park devoted to collecting everyone’s empties, so that they can be taken to our local Crisp Packet Recycling Scheme drop-off location.