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Pupils at Darrick Wood School, a local comprehensive in Orpington, are working towards achieving the internationally recognised ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ Green Flag Award.
The school’s Eco Committee, which is made up of Eco Representatives from each Year Group, meet up each half-term to discuss ways in which the school can improve its environmental credentials. To date, it’s members have been able to implement a number of changes supported by the school’s senior management team. These include the introduction of reusable water bottles - by installing new water fountains - and removing the sale of plastic single-use water bottles from the canteens. Pupils are also actively encouraged to remove litter from the playgrounds with the recent introduction of a number of ‘grabber litter pickers’.
Changes have also been made to the school environment, such as refurbishing existing wooden benches and creating new picnic areas where pupils can sit amongst nature to eat their lunch.
In order to achieve the Green Flag status, pupils are going one step further to make the school a truly bio-diverse environment. The teacher in charge of the Eco-Committee, Mrs Harrison, shared her plans for the school, which include the building an artificial nesting structure for insects, affectionately known as ‘bug hotels’.
In addition, work is underway to redevelop the school’s garden, including plans to build a pond; and investing in new multi-purpose recycling bins. Furthermore, the School plans to extend its mission to ‘Keep Britain Tidy’ by picking up litter in the surrounding community. A Sixth-Form outreach team will be deployed to clean up Tugmutton Common, which is a communal space across the road from the school.