Mrs Woodthorpe praises efforts
One thing that is becoming more prevalent than ever across Rydal Penrhos life is how aware pupils are of their surroundings.
This has been especially evident since the coronavirus pandemic became a part of everyone’s day-to-day lives, but the increased risk surrounding climate change across the globe is something they are keen to highlight at every possible opportunity.
The fine work being done in Years 3-6 by the Eco Committee has been remarkable since the group was formed. Their passion, commitment, and willingness to give up their time for various initiatives and causes are all part of the rich, well-rounded education each pupil receives at the school.
Something that stands them in enormously good stead both throughout their time with us and in later life.
The committee is organised by teacher Julie Woodthorpe and led by eco leaders and members of the Prefect team. During their final activities of the previous academic year, pupils focused their attention on World Oceans Day to do their bit in keeping the planet healthy.
Mrs Woodthorpe explains more:
To celebrate World Oceans Day, the Eco Committee decided to highlight plastic waste, as so much single-use plastic ends up polluting the oceans around the world, harming creatures that live there and affecting humans too.
Their focus was on the plastic packaging used to wrap sweets which is difficult to recycle. They were interested to learn that Smarties are now packaged in paper bags instead of plastic bags which so many of their favourite sweets are still wrapped in.
Members of the Eco Committee from each year group wrote a persuasive letter to companies who use plastic packaging for sweets, to try and encourage them to reduce the amount of plastic wrapping waste and use a more sustainable and eco-friendly alternative.
Plastic waste is a topic which the Eco Committee are keen to highlight each year. The penguin sculpture which was put at the front of the school for pupils to fill with plastic lids is now full. The vast collection of lids emphasises the amount of single-use plastic created from everyday products, such as milk bottles, juice bottles and cosmetic bottles.
Since the sculpture is now full and pupils are no longer collecting plastic lids, the Eco Committee would still like to involve everyone at home in their Eco activities.
They would like everyone to look at the products they use at home and commit to changing to a sustainable alternative. For example, this could be changing from buying single-use plastic milk bottles to having milk delivered in glass bottles by a milkman.
Another example is to refill bottles and containers at the local Eco shop to avoid buying items in plastic bottles or bags. Or buy loose fruit and vegetables instead of pre-packed products.