~Devon Schools Sustainability Bulletin #15 January 2015

Your bulletin on composting, gardening, recycling and sustainability in Devon schools.

Devon Schools Sustainability Bulletin #15 January 2015 Happy New Year and welcome to this Winter issue of the Devon Schools Sustainability Bulletin. This season is particularly magical as, despite the grey and damp days, life is already starting to push through with snowdrops and even daffodils showing their nodding heads. This Bulletin has a big call out to everyone to encourage more subscribers. We already have 780 people signed up, and we are hoping to make it to 1000! We also have a packed training and events section, as well as gardening suggestions and inspiring teaching resources. Do forward this on to others who might be interested and if you have not already subscribed and would like to, click to sign up.  Contents News Composting and gardening in school Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Training and events Funding News Prize draw to win school books We would like the Devon Schools Sustainability Bulletin to reach even more people across Devon. For the next two months we have a special offer that every new subscriber will be put into a prize draw to win a set of waste and recycling themed books. If you know of anyone in Devon who would like to receive the updates and opportunities, do pass this on to them so they can sign up here. The draw will be on Monday 16th March.  Growing Devon Schools Partnership (GDSP) to run another year long training programme. 2014 saw the first year of brilliant training from GDSP organisations, working with 10 schools exploring how to integrate the whole food cycle into their school routine. This year the GDSP are delighted to have received funding from Awards for All to run similar training again. This course will have an emphasis on working with non-teaching staff, including parent volunteers, school governors and out of school time staff as well as teachers. The training will be based from two separate hubs at Embercombe and Paignton Zoo. Participating schools have already been selected, but if your school is interested in getting involved with GDSP activities in the future, come to one of the free forum days (see in the training and events below) and visit the websitehere.  New Recycle Devon website for teachers Visit zone.recycledevon.org, the exciting newly designed waste, recycling and composting website for teachers. The site features a wide range of videos and downloadable resources, designed to help staff and pupils in Devon incorporate the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) into classroom teaching and the day-to-day life of their school. There is something for everybody, whether you want to incorporate waste issues into literacy and maths lessons; run a whole-school campaign to earn your next Eco-Schools award; keep a lively Eco Team busy on a rainy day; or save money by reducing the amount of paper the school uses! Free energy and climate change curriculum resources This resource which will help teachers and school managers raise awareness and take action in their school is available in the SEACS Project Toolkit, funded by the EU and Devon County Council. There is, for example, a self-evaluation matrix to guide you on your energy awareness journey; primary and secondary lesson plans for Design & Technology, French, Science and PSHE; tips on running a whole-school awareness raising campaign; guidance for arranging a United Nations style Climate Summit; templates and guidance to help your school audit andmeasure its energy consumption; and case studies and videos showing how others have used the tools. Natural Connections 'Outside the Classroom' Competition The competition is open to all primary, secondary and special schools in Devon, and the other Natural Connections areas. They would love to hear about your school’s outdoor lessons, whether you are out growing food, recording and measuring trees in Maths, creative writing about the elements in English or bug hunting in science. To enter the competition, fill out the form here. Prizes include local fruit trees and bushes worth £100, a class day out at the Eden Project, a nature specialist visit and many more. Submission deadline is 6th March 2015   Composting and gardening in school  Things to do in your school garden this January and February It may seem early to start thinking about the school garden, but now is a good time to plan and decide what you would like to grow. This page from the RHS has some useful ideas.  It is well worth starting to sow seeds so crops can be harvested in term time. You can plant  broad beans,peas (the round sort - look out for early varieties such as 'Meteor') and garlic cloves. If your beds aren't ready to sow seeds outside, you can plant them inside in pots, or in guttering! Visit the RHS school gardening website and Garden Organic schools resources for specific information on growing different crops and more ideas and tips.   Get hold of some seed catalogues and gardening magazines (parents are bound to have old copies) and with your class cut these up to make a collage of what you would like to try to grow. You can emphasise that this is a vision, and even if your garden doesn't end up as perfect as the images from the magazines, you will learn a lot along the way.  School Gardens Link-Up Project Food For Thought (part of Devon Development Education) works with 46 rural primary schools in Uganda. All of these have sustainable, organic food-growing gardens for pupils to learn new organic growing skills and to taste different crops. They grow their own maize and beans for the pupil's lunch. These schools would love to learn more about life and food growing in British schools. Would your school like the chance to link with them?  This is a one year (3 terms) project, with information being exchanged once a month or more, with a focus on the school garden and growing plants. Schools in UK and Uganda will be entered for the School Gardening Competition. There is a £50 registration fee. To find out more, contact Sue Errington at Devon Development Education, 01392 438811, dde@globalcentredevon.org.uk, visit the website or download the flyer. FREE Composting Curriculum handbook In case you didn't order yours last year, here is a reminder to get your free copy of the new Compost Curriculum Handbook. It is full of primary school curriculum linked activities learning about, and using, natures wonderful compost. The session plans are divided into 'class' and 'eco group' activities for each month in the school year. Each session plan includes supporting information, curriculum links and resources. There are also top tips, fun facts and compost quotes for each month! The whole resource is in a sturdy ring binder so each activity can be easily taken out for use and other activities can be added. The handbook is free to Devon Schools; one copy per school; two for larger primaries (sorry not Torbay and Plymouth schools). To request your hard copy contact Heidi Diepold at recycle@devon.gov.uk or teachers in eligible schools can download it from the log in area on the website zone.recycledevon.org/composting.  2015 is United Nations year of soil! The UN has declared 2015 the International Year of Soils to raise awareness and promote care and sustainable use of this most precious resource. Soil hosts at least a quarter of the world's biodiversity, and all terrestrial life is dependent on soil for its survival. The last edition of the Bulletin had a feature on soils and mud in the curriculum and playtime. You can see this again here, and we will be running more features and ideas on soil throughout the year!  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle  Free Waste Summit for secondary students  The Waste Summit is a free, popular, fast paced and thought provoking event aimed at Devon's year 10 students. The Summit explores waste within the wider sustainability agenda and brings students from different schools together for a range of curriculum supporting activities and discussion. Bookings are now being taken for the 2015 event, which will be held at County Hall, Exeter on the 26th March 2015. For further details see the flyer or contact iain.stevens@devon.gov.uk or phone 01392 383586.  What about Waste? Literacy resource pack This literacy pack will develop pupils’ core skills while extending their understanding of waste issues. It comprises 10 clear and easy to use lesson plans, which address literacy objectives for upper KS2 pupils using the topical theme of rubbish and the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle). It can be downloaded here via a log in area (Devon teachers only, sorry no Plymouth or Torbay). Waste Free Lunch Week Devon’s third ‘Waste Free Lunch week’ is coming soon from the 2nd to the 6th March 2015. Free help and support is available to help you run a campaign to reduce waste from pupil’s packed lunches: Visits: book a waste educator to audit waste produced by the school’s packed lunches with the children Resources: a ‘menu’ of activities and lesson plans can be downloaded from the website Posters and stickers: register your interest by 6th February 2015 to receive a free promotional pack Competition: garden centre vouchers can be won by schools who run the most innovative and successful campaigns Register your interest and book a packed lunch audit by emailingdemelza.annison@resourcefutures.co.uk. Find out more here.  Don't waste it, WARPit WARPit is an online exchange facility; it is a bit like ebay, but no money changes hands. Schools can sign up to claim resources (such as furniture, stationary, sports equipment etc) from other schools in Devon, or get rid of their unwanted items. That means they save money by not purchasing new items, but also save money on disposal costs. It's free to register, free to use and you get the items for free. Items recently added, are a laptop, a printer, screens and a filing cabinet. Devon schools (not Torbay or Plymouth) can register on this website or see the flyer for more information. Torbay schools can register here. Plymouth has not yet joined the scheme.  School skill share visits to inspire action  Teachers have the opportunity to learn and share practical ideas via a ‘skills share visit’. Contact us and we can facilitate a visit to a nearby school who is successfully composting and/ or recycling. Here you will meet teachers and pupils who run the schemes and gain practical ideas to implement back in your school. You can also apply for your expenses. Feedback from a recent visit included:  "Our Skills Share visit to South Molton Community College was extremely helpful. The members of staff we met provided us with a really useful insight into their composting and recycling practices.  It was enlightening to see how with student involvement and staff support, effective waste management can be embedded into all working and learning practices within the school. All 3 of us who visited from Chulmleigh Community College left feeling very inspired and well informed and have been taking practical steps, since our visit, to start to improve our waste management.  Excellent visit, time well spent!" Contact Heidi Diepold on recycle@devon.gov.uk or 01392 382920 or view the flyer. Training and events FREE Growing Devon Schools Partnership (GDSP) teachers forum day  Last November's GDSP forum was another great success, with teachers getting involved in cooking and lasagne gardening, as well as sharing ideas and resources for outdoor learning. GDSP are bringing teachers together for another day ofsharing experiences and outdoor lesson ideas onWednesday 11th March at South Molton Community College. Find out about the last Teacher Forum day here and to book contact Polly Frost on pfrost@soilassociation.org or phone 07920 047 303.  FREE "Seeding Ideas for Sustainability" training day  Join us at Embercombe on March 12th for an exciting and inspiring teacher training day called "Seeding ideas for Sustainability" where we will be looking at waste and sustainability as topics to integrate into your schools ethos and curriculum. Expect talks from composting experts, teachers who have successfully integrated sustainability and waste into every day school life, exciting hands on activities including making your own pizza from scratch, discussion groups looking at the problems and successes of being an Eco teacher in a primary school, take home resources, information on grant monies and it's all FREE. There will be a lunch provided. For further information see the flyer here and contact Alex Mack onalex.mack@resourcefutures.co.uk or call 07944 791971. FREE Food for Life training days The Food for Life Partnership has lots of practical and inspiring training days coming up this term. School Farmers Markets; hosting farmers’ markets at your school is an excellent enterprise project. This training session will guide you through the 8 weeks to market Curriculum Resource. Tuesday 27th January, 4pm - 6pm, Highweek School, Newton Abbot Teaching Cooking Confidently; with the strengthened place of cooking and nutrition in the new National Curriculum, this course will give staff key skills to deliver high quality cookery lessons. Tuesday 3rd February, 9:30am - 3:30pm, Woolsgrove Cookery School near Crediton Thursday 5th February, 9:30am - 3:30pm, River Cottage Chef School near Axminster Growing Food in School; this stimulating course will show you how to plan gardening activities throughout the school year; including seasonality and term time harvesting. Wednesday 4th March 2015, 9.30am – 3.30pm, RHS Rosemoor, near Great Torrington Cooks Network for In-house school cooks with Jeanette Orrey, MBE Tuesday 10th February, 2pm – 4.30pm, Whipton Barton Junior School, Exeter Tuesday 24th March, 2pm – 4.30pm, Whipton Barton Junior School, Exeter Click here for a flyer of all of these fantastic courses. Places are limited - please return the booking form asap to: FFLPevents@soilassociation.org  To find out more about the work FFLP is doing in Devon, please contact Polly Frost on 07920 047 303 or email pfrost@soilassociation.org Twitter @SchFoodDevon FREE sessions with the Plymouth Woodland Project Free sessions are available for schools to learn about woodland habitats, plants and animals in local woodlands across Plymouth. Sessions are available for Key Stages 1 and 2 and there is an opportunity for your classes to take part in real scientific surveys. For more details and to book a session contact Alison Smith, Plymouth Woodland Project Community Scientist. Tel: 07954 683869 or email alison.smith@plymouth.ac.uk and visit the website.   RHS training: Whole Class Growing Topics for Primary School 3rd March 2015, RHS Garden Rosemoor, EX38 8PH This course is designed to give you the knowledge and skills to lead termly growing topics for the whole class, linked to subjects in the 2015 Primary Curriculum, throughout the school year. For more details and to book visit their website. Outdoor Learning Practitioner and Coordinator training Outdoor Learning Practitioner and Coordinator are new courses designed for those who would like to further their outdoor learning skills, be a part of successfully embedding outdoor learning in their school or organisation and making it accessible to all. The training is available in Brixham starting on 2nd and 3rd March. Visit the website for more details.  Reduced cost Forest School training  Training in Forest School and Outdoor First Aid reduced by 90% to school staff in the most deprived areas of Devon. The training will be offered on a first come first served basis and schools will need to have 40% or more children on Free School Meals to qualify. To book or for any queries please contact Sarah on 07949043799 or email forestschool@natureworkshops.co.uk.  SEEd Webinars on Sustainability SEEd continue to offer a series of online facilitated themed webinars for thewhole class on sustainability. Join in and learn with other people from around the country.   Tuesday 20th January. 2pm. Sustainable fashion Cost is £15 for the whole class. For more information on the webinars and to sign up visit the SEEd website.  Funding   Funding lists Natural Connections has put together a useful list of potential funders for outdoor learning and sustainability projects in schools, along with links to supporting information about applying for funding. The information is available on the Growing Schools website.  Naturesave Trust The Naturesave Trust are an insurance company that give small grants to environmental projects. To find out more about how to apply for a grant visit their website.  Cutting your wasteline grant The next round of the Cutting Your Wasteline schools grant is coming up. Schools in Devon (including Torbay, but not Plymouth) can apply for up to £1,500 towards resources for schools to reduce their rubbish/ black bin bag waste. This can be: start or improve your Recycling system start or improve a composting system have a skills share visit (see Reduce, Reuse, Recycle section) to see successful composting and/or recycling in a nearby school. Contact Heidi Diepold on recycle@devon.gov.uk or 01392 382920 for details. If you would like to apply for composting equipment you must book a visit from composting experts Nicky Scott (nicky.scott@devon.gov.uk) or Melissa Harvey (melissaharvey.dccn@gmail.com) before applying. Tree council grants The Tree Council offers three small grants schemes to assist with the costs of community tree-planting projects: Community Trees Fund – for tree-planting projects in community grounds Trees for Schools – for tree-planting projects in school grounds Orchard Windfalls Fund – for projects to plant apple or pear trees to create an orchard on land accessible to the public. Projects with total tree planting costs between £100 and £700 are eligible and grants can be made up to 75% of total costs. Planting should take place in National Tree Week (28 November to 6 December 2015). See the website for more details.  Funding from Devon County Councillors Devon County Councillors are each allocated £40,000 to be used for funding community projects in their area. This is split into £25,000 to support capital projects (spending on significant assets that will have a life of many years) and £15,000 of revenue funding (spending on day-to-day items to run services, supplies and purchase of services). Interested organisations are advised to contact their County Councillor. To find out who that is see here.  Next bulletin...

The next bulletin is due to come out in March after the half term. If you have any case studies, news, ideas or resources relating to sustainability in schools that other teachers might be interested in, please send a short paragraph (up to 100 words) and a small picture to melissaharvey.dccn@gmail.com by Friday 13th February.

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