Devon Schools Sustainability Bulletin #19
September 2015
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 Welcome to the Autumn term issue of the Devon Schools Sustainability Bulletin. This half term we have a packed calendar of events and training, and a new calendar link. Do let us know if you like it. There are also ideas for what to do in your garden at school, and news about the new Countryside Classroom teaching resources website.
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. |
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 News
Training and events
Gardening and composting in school
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Funding |
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Growing Devon Schools (GDS) school forum
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The next GDS forum day will be on Monday 19th October at Princetown Primary School, on Dartmoor. The day is for teachers, teaching assistants, parent volunteers and other schools staff, and will be packed with practical workshops, talks and sharing of res ources and outdoor learning experiences, including seed-saving in school and Ofsted and school food. The event is FREE and with a free lunch.
To find out more see the flyerhere, visit the website here and to book email: admin@growingdevonschools.org.uk. |
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| Countryside classroom: resources for teaching outdoors in and out of school |
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 The Countryside Classroom website is the national hub for learning in and about the outdoors. Similar to the TES website, Countryside Classroom offers a directory of school support that includes classroom resources, visitor locations and details of individuals and organisations that can offer expert support to schools. The new website can be seen here and the national launch will be at the end of this month. |
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| Growing Devon Schools training |
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 Paignton Zoo will be running the first of their four FREE Growing Devon Schools training days on Wednesday 30th September: The benefits of growing in school. This day will explore the benefits of growing, cooking, composting and outdoor learning in school. Hear inspirational teachers, cook your own healthy lunch and learn about making compost to help your garden grow. An informative and fun day with plenty of ideas to take back to school.
For more details and to book contact Michelle.Youd@paigntonzoo.org.uk/ 01803 697510. See details of the other courses they are running next term here. |
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| Dartmoor Saves More - free school workshops |
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 Dartmoor National Park and Devon County Council have funded a new project called Dartmoor Saves More. Through out the Autumn and Spring terms Resource Futures will be visiting primary schools on Dartmoor to deliver FREE exciting practical workshops to primary school children all about the food cycle ‘ Grow it, Cook it, Eat it, Compost it’ with a focus on food waste and food local to Dartmoor. There will be community events all about food waste. If you are interested in getting involved and your school is on Dartmoor or the surrounding area please contact Alex on: 07944791971 alex.mack@resourcefutures.co.uk. Places are limited and will be on a first come first served basis. |
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| Devon Environmental Business Initiative (DEBI) school awards |
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 DEBI is inviting Devon schools to enter their annual environmental awards. Do you have a waste reduction and reuse policy in the school in which the students actively participate? Do you use renewable energy? Do you engage your staff and students in environmental best practice? Why don’t you nominate them for the DEBI 2015 Environmental Champion?
The awards are free to enter and free to attend. The deadline for applications is Friday 25th September. All information about the awards can be found here and for information contact Lucy Robinson on info@debi-online.org.uk. |
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| October is international walk to school month |
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 Every October sees primary school pupils from across the UK join forces with children in more than 40 countries worldwide to celebrate the benefits of walking to school - find out more here. |
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| The Pod - Campaigns for the new term |
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 The Pod has two campaigns running for the new term:
Energy Month is running throughout November (Switch Off Fortnight 16 - 29 November). It is a fantastic way for pupils to learn about energy and to take the lead in cutting your energy usage.
What's under your feet? is a new large-scale citizen science project, created by the Pod in conjunction with the British Trust for Ornithology. You don’t need to be a science teacher to run this hands-on science activity. Sign up here to download the resources and receive your free pack. |
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| New Devon Schools sustainability events and training calendar |
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 We have now created a calendar for events and training. This term has a brilliant range from Food for Life, Growing Devon Schools, Embercombe, Earth Education and Natural Connections. |
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Training and events summary:
Click on the links to see the event details or view the full calendar here.
23rd September - Food for Life: Cooks network. Free Food for Life afternoon training event for school cooks and in-house catering managers, at Stoke Hill Junior School, Exeter.
30th September - GDSP training: The benefits of growing at school. Free training day for school staff and volunteers at Paignton Zoo.
7th October - Food for Life: Cooking for a school farmers market. Free twilight session at Growing our Future, Okehampton College.
14th October - Sustainability at school. Free training day from Resource Futures for teachers and volunteers, at Paignton Zoo.
17th October - Embercombe Pumpkin, pizza and apple day. Free famly fun day at Embercombe, near Exeter.
19th October - GDSP school forum day. Free trainng day at Princetown Primary for anyone working in schools including practical workshops and skills around food and outdoor learning.
3rd November - Earth Education workshop. Training day on fundamentals of Earth Education, at Slapton Ley Field Centre.
11th November - Food for Life: Transforming school food culture. Free training day for school staff and volunteers, particularly catering staff, at Growing our Future, Okehampton.
12th November - Natural Connections: Key findings conference. Free afternoon conference sharing Natural Connections project key findings at Plymouth University.
12th November - Natural Connections: fundraising for outdoor learning. Afternoon training session at South Molton Infant school. |
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| Composting and gardening in school |
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| Things to do in your school garden this Autumn |
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 Hopefully some of your Autumn crops have made it through the Summer holidays and you some produce to harvest. If you have a polytunnel there is still just time to plant out some winter greens such as rocket, autumn and winter salads and oriental mizuna and mustard. However everything is starting to slow down, so coming into Autumn our main jobs in the garden are:
- Using your schools compost to create lasagne beds (see below);
- Building a leaf composter and collecting leaves to make lovely rich leaf-mold;
- Sowing green manures, such as phacelia or vetch, which keep garden beds covered over the winter;
- Planning any tree planting you might want to do over the winter.
For more school gardening ideas and practical information, all of the Food for Life growing resources can be seen here. Visit the Garden Organic schools resources for specific information on growing different crops and more ideas and tips. |
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 If your school has a food waste composter, such as a Ridan, it will have had a rest and probably slowed down over the summer holidays. To get it going again:
- Start by adding raw food along with your wood source (sawdust, wood chips or pellets) for the first week;
- Once it has started to heat up begin to add smallamounts of cooked food, and remember to keep it turning (at least 10 to 20 turns every time material is added).
If you have any questions about composting in your school you can contact your school composting experts for free advice or a visit: Nicky Scott (nicky.scott@devon.gov.uk; 07919 467589) or Melissa Harvey (melissaharvey.dccn@gmail.com; 07732 396012). Thisleaflet summarises the FREE composting support offered to Devon schools (including Torbay but not Plymouth).
 Finally, in case you haven't already got one, here is a reminder to get your free copy of the Compost Curriculum Handbook. It has primary curriculum linked activities learning about, and using, nature's wonderful compost.
Feedback from a teacher: "like a 'Bible' for learning about Composting and I would recommend it to every primary school especially if they are just starting out and needing 'right' guidance."
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 atrecycle@devon.gov.uk or teachers in eligible schools can download it from the log in area on the website. |
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| Make a lasagne garden bed |
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 To prepare a new vegetable bed, or re-start a bed that has become a bit overgrown the lasagne method is really effective way of involving a group of pupils in the garden. Creating a lasagne bed involves mulching (covering) the soil and weeds with layers of cardboard, paper, compost and other materials such as grass clippings, to smother the weeds and add organic matter, ready to plant into in the Spring.
This lesson plan gives a clear outline of the lasagne method and this short film shows it in action. |
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| Polli:Nation helps schools to help pollinating insects |
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 Polli:Nation is a programme which supports schools in helping to protect the future of our seriously dwindling bee population. If your schools successfully applies to become a Polli:Nation school, you will receive.
- A grant of up to £4000 to help you transform your school grounds to become a haven for pollinating insects;
- Expert support from LTL’s professional network to help transform the grounds, and transform the learning;
- A wealth of free lesson plans, resources and materials such as wildflower seeds;
- Participation in and resources from a UK wide social science experiment developed for Polli:Nation by scientists at OPAL, with support from leading experts in the ecology and conservation sector.
Find out more and sign up here. |
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| What about Waste? KS2 free literacy resource packs |
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Devon County Council have created upper and lower KS2 packs include poetry lesson plans and address key literacy objectives. Both are FREE to teachers in Devon schools (excluding Plymouth & Torbay).
Click here to see a preview and register to download a copy. |
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| Recycle Devon website for teachers |
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 Visit zone.recycledevon.org, the exciting waste, recycling and composting website for teachers. The site features free downloadable teaching resources designed to help staff and pupils 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. |
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| School skill share visits |
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 Teachers have the opportunity to learn and share practical ideas via a ‘skills share visit’. Devon waste education team will facilitate a visit to a nearby school that 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. 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. Excellent visit, time well spent!"
Contact Heidi Diepold on recycle@devon.gov.uk or 01392 382920 or view the flyer. |
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| Cutting your wasteline grant |
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Schools in Devon (including Torbay, but not Plymouth) can apply for funding 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.
- transport costs to a landfill site/Energy from Waste plant visit.
The next date for applications is the 6th November, but you need to let us know by 9th October if you are interested in composting equipment so we can arrange a visit. The application form can be downloaded here and information on composters here. 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. |
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 Solar Schools helps schools crowd-fund the cost of solar panels – cutting carbon, boosting budgets and teaching pupils about energy and climate change. Find out more and apply here. |
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| 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. |
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 The Naturesave Trust are a Totnes based insurance company who give small grants to environmental projects. Previously funded schemes include beehives, pond lining, solar panels and compost bins; amounts range from £200 to £1500. To find out more about how to apply for a grant visit their website. |
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 The Tree Council offers three small grant 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.
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| Funding from Devon County Councillors |
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| 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. |
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