It’s a beautiful morning and Footkin is very excited.He is on his way to meet his friends at school.Today, they are going to start working on the Eco-Schools program together. They are going to form their Eco-Schools Committee and have their first Environmental Review.What an exciting way to start the day!

Footkin and the Head Teacher welcome the students who were selected for the Eco-Committee. There are student volunteers from each year group. The Eco-Committee is the action team that will make sure projects get done!

Footkin explains that the Eco-Committee also needs a few adult volunteers. The Head Teacher and 2 other teachers have happily joined the Eco-Committee. Later, there will be time for parents and the school principal or other staff members to join too!

Footkin tells the group that they need to put together an Environmental Review. “What is that?” asks a student. Footkin explains, “It is a report about how each school is already doing with the 7 Eco-Schools themes. It shows us what we are doing well and what we need to work on. Once we complete an Environmental Review, we can collect data related to that theme and complete the Baseline Survey. This will help us monitor our progress when we collect the data again at the end of the program. Now, we can get started with our first committee meeting!”

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

The volunteers form smaller groups. Each group will answer the questions in the Environmental Review for a particular theme. Some questions are tricky and they may need to ask for help to their teachers. Very young students may want to do this activity together as a class. The students are encouraged to take notes and pictures and add additional comments For example, the team responsible for Energy may want to comment on any place not mentioned in the Environmental Review where the school can save energy.

The Litter and Waste team will check the school grounds. They also check if there are enough bins inside and outside the school.

The team responsible for Water will check for leaks and drips. Their report will show ways for the school to save more water.

The Water team will also check the water meter. This shows how much water the school uses

At the end, all the teams meet together to share what they learned. The students are very excited. They can see which problems are most important to fix right away. Footkin is very proud of the Eco-Committee. “These are all great ideas,” he says. “Now let’s see in what area we are not doing so well and let’s start there! We’ll collect data for that theme and complete the Baseline Survey. We can then make an action plan!”

Footkin also explains that an Action Plan will help the committee get things done. “We need to decide on 1 topic to work on if this is our first year participating in the Eco-Schools program. Two topics if it’s our second year and three topics if it’s our third. We pick a volunteer to be in charge of each topic. We list the steps to fix a problem. Then we set goals for when each step will be complete. When we have finished the project(s), we can apply for a Bronze Award if it’s our first year, a Silver Award if it’s the second and the internationally recognized Green Flag if it’s our third!” Everyone wants to get started on the Action Plan!

Footkin says “Remember that this is for the whole school. The Eco-Committee will take the lead, but we need help from other students, teachers and parents too. Our next step will be posting our Action Plan on the notice board and see if more students want to get involved!”

The Head Teacher is very excited. She knows this will be good for the community. It will save the school money and be good for the planet.“I am going to post your Action Plan on the notice board,” she says. “And I am going to send out this information in the school newsletter!” The students cheer! They are happy and proud!

It’s a beautiful day and such a good day to begin the Action Plan!Here are some examples of actions that can be taken to reduce energy. The Eco-Committee works with pupils from the whole school. They start with the Energy topic.The first action is to change all the old light bulbs to LED light bulbs. LED bulbs use much less energy. They also cause much less heat.

The second action is to seal all the windows before winter.The third action will take longer. The team wants to install solar panels on the roof. Solar panels will provide clean energy and save money.

If you want to reduce Litter, you can choose a day for cleaning up. Get more volunteers excited to help clean the school grounds. It is a fun day with lots of helpers!

If you want to reduce food waste, you could add more recycling stations. and/or a compost bin for the kitchen.

If you want to reduce paper, set the school printers to print on both sides of the page. Then encourage students to write on both sides of the paper. This will also help save trees.

The Eco-Committee meets to see if they have completed their Action Plan.They have done everything on their list in only 3 months!

Footkin congratulates the Eco-Committee on a great job. He also reminds them that they can do the same things at home.“Asking your parents to change light bulbs and switch off extra lights will save energy. Carpooling and public transport help reduce pollution. And remember to walk or ride bicycles together whenever you can! Helping the environment as a family can be fun!”

Footkin sits down with teachers at the school. He wants to help them include sustainabil ity and environmental issues in the curriculum.The science teacher says he will cover solar energy in his class. Other teachers say they will talk about the effects of litter and the ways that people can care for one another.Footkin is very excited. “To help make learning more fun,” he says, “I have great activity books you can use for each of the7 Eco-Schools topics!”

LINKING TO CURRICULUM

In the classroom, the teacher discusses litter. He explains where it comes from and where it goes. The students are curious about how it affects people and animals’s lives. They can see how important it is to prevent litter.

The teacher shows his class how the Eco-Committee members are cleaning up. The class wants to help! It is important to keep the school grounds clean!

F o o t k i n s h o w s “before” and “after” pictures to the Eco-Committee. They can see the difference their work made.“These pictures give us something to compare with,” says Footkin. “We can use them together with our Baseline Survey to measure our progress The students are excited They know they can keep improving. And they are proud to be making a positive change for their community!

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Footkin tells the Eco-Committee that they can use more than pictures to show their success.“We can look at energy bills, too,” he says. “We can compare bills to show how we save money and energy. Then we can celebrate our achievements!”

Footkin wants the Eco-Committee to write an Eco-Code.He explains, “The Eco-Code is our mission statement. That means, it explains our school’s commitment to our environmental performance!”The student volunteers are excited to let everyone know what they want to accomplish. They work together to create their own Eco-Code.

THE ECO-CODE

After all that hard work, it’s time to apply for one of the Eco-School’s awards,” says Footkin. “Well done, everyone!”

The school is proud of its award.

Footkin is an Official Friend of Eco-Schools AustraliaA Friend of Eco-Schools Australia is a Keep Australia Beautiful-recognised provider of high-quality education for sustainability resources, services or experiences. A Friend’s aims, objectives and ethos align with those of the Eco-Schools program and they share a commitment to the development of education for sustainability. Keep Australia Beautiful is an independent charity and the national operator of the Eco-Schools program in Australia.Footkin’s activity books cover all of the Eco-Schools topics and are a great way to introduce them to environmental issues in a fun and engaging way.