EDUCATION
From rewilding to reducing electricity consumption, sustainability is high on many schools’ agendas
With the UK’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050, and events such as World Environment Day keeping sustainability and the environment on the news agenda, it is no surprise that schools are as keen to shout about their eco credentials as much as their exam results and other educational achievements.
In its Schools Sustainability Guide, the WWF (wwf.org.uk) says every school has ‘huge potential for mobilising society-wide change’ and that ‘individual students and teachers taking small actions can be the seeds of change’ when it comes to making a difference to climate change or nature loss.
This is a message that Marcus Culverwell echoes, not only as a headmaster, but also as a driving force behind the creation of ESR (Education for Social Responsibility) programmes in schools across the country. Marcus has worked with lesson plan and learning provider PlanBee (planbee.com) to develop environmental education programmes for junior schools, with many UK and overseas prep schools having been given free access to them as part of their membership of IAPS (Independent Association of Prep Schools).
At his own school, Reigate St Mary’s, social responsibility – which covers ethical trade, ecosystems, climate change, water scarcity, biodiversity, finite planet and fulfilled lives – is woven into the curriculum, and constantly revisited in every subject, across every age group. ‘Traditionally, the approach to education about important matters such as climate change has been included within science or geography, and therefore is often seen as just a unit within a subject,’ Marcus explains. ‘We wouldn’t teach good citizenship or kindness in that way; they are reinforced in every area of school life so that young people know this is the way we should live. This has to be the same for sustainability, so that it becomes habitual in the way children think and behave as they grow up.’
FUTUREPROOFING PUPILS
‘We have started preparing children for their futures by introducing STEM for sustainability, where children as young as 10 have built a model solar panel system which tracks the sun across the sky, increasing the energy gathered by the panels,’ Marcus continues. ‘When children see that they can produce systems which support sustainability, it builds their confidence to be change makers and leaders of change for a sustainable future. But more importantly, we want them to take this attitude into the workp
