The Green Schools Project [GSP] was set up to enable young people to get involved with environmental projects. The idea is that schools should be setting a good example, educating students about how to live in a way that minimises negative impacts on the environment. GSP says that, in reality, this is often not the case and big changes are required for schools to be doing their bit to tackle climate change. It thinks that the best way for this to happen is for the students themselves to drive the change, run the campaigns to reduce the school’s energy usage, increase recycling and encourage more walking and cycling to school, as [i] students are far more likely to listen to their peers on this than nagging teachers, and [ii] teachers, who are often more sceptical than the students, are far more receptive when the message is delivered by young people that genuinely care about these issues. You can read more about what GSP is doing here.
The GSP website carries a number of blogs. These include:
Are schools failing the next generation over global warming? My plan to help!
Philip Bell is a history teacher and Teach First participant at Alec Reed Academy in the London Borough of Ealing. He coordinates Green Schools Project work in his school and is starting a network for environmental education.
Green Schools Project – A conversation with Morgan Phillips
Morgan Phillips joined Green Schools Project as Associate Director and member of the advisory board in October 2016. He has great experience of environmental education from his role as Head of Eco-Schools England.
The importance of protecting the environment has been getting a lot of headlines lately. Blue Planet 2 did an amazing job of highlighting the issue of plastic being discarded into our Oceans and the problem of warming seas harming coral and other sea life due to climate change. The government also recently launched its 25 year plan to improve the Environment which, while setting way too long a timescale at least is a step in the right direction.