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Eco-Council
Welcome to our Kingfisher Primary Eco-Council Page!
Here at Kingfisher Primary School, we believe the children are at the core of what we do and are the future of our world. Our Eco-Councillors are a group of individuals who feel passionately about the world in which we live in and want to make Kingfisher a more sustainable and eco-friendly place to be. These children were selected by their peers to represent and share their classes ideas and they meet regularly with Mrs Farnell to share these.
The children have already started to make a difference to the school community and are working hard with completing action plans and environmental reviews to see areas for us to improve as a school.
If you have any questions, or want to get involved, please contact our Eco-Coordinator Mrs Farnell on the playground or via the school office.
Below, you will find updates on the improvements that the Eco Council are making at Kingfisher.
Eco- Council 2024-2025
Exciting News!
Eco Schools Green Flag Award with Distinction
2024-2025
We are incredibly proud of the changes and implementations that our Eco-Council established and achieved last academic year. The children worked hard to advocate their voices for change, and collected evidence of these changes throughout the year as evidence towards the Green Flag Award.
An overview of the achievements from last year:
- We organised a book swap.
- We engaged in an Eco Day.
- All classes learned about Environmental issues.
- We organised and took part in a Sponsored Walk for the RSPB.
- We contributed to a Cake Sale for the RSPB.
- We led assemblies.
- Carymoor visited Year 3.
- A visit from Wessex Water.
- All classes took part in Outdoor Learning.
- We took responsibility for turning out the lights and teachers turning off their boards.
- In outdoor learning, children made bird feeders.
- We wrote a letter to our local garden centre asking for support.
Eco-Council 2023-2024
Fabulous- Fundraising
Our Eco Council and the School Council did a fantastic job running an assembly to advertise our next fundraising challenge! A sponsored walk to raise funds for the RSPB. On the week commencing the 8th July, each class will be taking part in a daily mile (10 laps of our school playground) and will be encouraged to be sponsored for each mile they complete in school and at home. All funds will be given to the RSPB. If you would like to sponsor your child, or donate, please click on the link below.
Amazing Art Work
Year 5 pupils learnt about the importance of sustainability and found a use for some old plastic bottles! They decorated them ready to create some stunning pieces of artwork to form part of our ‘Welcome Garden’. Look how bright and vibrant they are!
Inspired Individuals
Inspired by his work in school, this incredible young man has built his own kite by reusing otherwise difficult to recycle materials. We are incredibly proud of the work created by our young people and the fact that he has been inspired to apply his learning outside of school. Well done!
Reduce, Re-use, Recycle!
Pupils in Year 1, have been busy focussing on the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling and creating some fabulous posters raising awareness. Here are some of their brilliant creations.
Year 3 Trip to Carymoor
​​​​​​This year, our Year 3 pupils have had a fantastic opportunity to take part in a comparison study when exploring the habitats and pondlife in a local pond on Abbey Manor and the one on site at Carymoor. The children loved exploring the harms of rubbish, highlighting the importance of recycling and looking at the wider effects of litter on pond life and our world. Thank you Carymoor for having us in!
School Charity 2023-2024
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
On Thursday 2nd November 2023, the Eco-Council and Miss Broadribb met with the School Council and Mr Green when voting for the school charity for the year. The children learned about the different environmental charities which they could choose from and voted democratically through blind ballot for the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). All members were excited to be supporting an environmentally friendly charity and are looking forward to improving our school's local environment for the wildlife living around it and to raise money for such a great cause. We can't wait to see what fundraising ideas the children come up with!
Super Sustainability at Kingfisher
At Kingfisher, we are proud of the work we do to educate our children on the importance of the environment and sustainability. We are incredibly proud of this wonderful display brightening up our downstairs corridor! The children love seeing their hard work displayed proudly upon the wall. Well done, Kingfisher! You are amazing!
Kingfisher Eco Day
On Monday 30th October 2023, Miss Broadribb organised a brilliant Eco-Day for the whole school. Children throughout the school all learned about sustainability, climate change and the importance of looking after our world today for the future of tomorrow.
Minnows loved learning about ways to help keep their world clean and the different bins they can use. In Year 3, the children wrote persuasive letters, investigated carbon footprints and created climate change posters. Pupils in Year 5 enjoyed engaging in debates about environmental topics while pupils in Year 2 created some super posters too, learned about rising sea levels and had a great outdoor learning session with Mrs Huggins. Eco-Councillors felt better informed about the ways they want to further improve our school environment and the wider world for everyone.
The whole school benefitted from a brilliant VR workshop from the Education Group, which was kindly funded by the PTA for all children to enjoy. This really enhanced the experiences of the children on their Eco-Day.
A great day was had by all and we can't wait to keep instilling the vital value of making our world more sustainable! Thank you to all involved.
Eco Schools Green Flag Award with Distinction
2023-2024
We are incredibly proud of the changes and implementations that our Eco-Council established and achieved last academic year. The children worked hard to advocate their voices for change, and collected evidence of these changes throughout the year as evidence towards the Green Flag Award.
An overview of the achievements from last year:
- Our fruit trees have been planted and are blooming- it's lovely to see the pears already starting to grow!
- The children have started to grow their own produce in our planters on the field and are working hard to maintain these. Including potatoes, peas, and some green beans.
- Litter picking is happening regularly with our timetable and reminders on the calendar.
- Light switches are being turned off more regularly with our posters and the children have been checking for this too.
- Energy readings are being taken with Mr Hayward at the start of each month.
- The children have organised an energy saving competition and took the lead when voting on the winners. Certificates were awarded in assembly and winning posters have been shared with parents.
- Eco updates have gone on the Newsletters for parents to see.
- We have had a visit from Carymoor to improve our awareness as a school on the importance of recycling, climate change and what we can do to make living and school more sustainable.
- Eco-Kids lessons have been taught and delivered in Years 1,2,3,5 and 6 to improve their understanding and further build on the work from Carymoor.
- Important Eco lessons have also been a stimulus for English objectives and Year 1 have done some brilliant letter writing on climate change.
- 15 trees have been ordered in honour of the Kings Coronation and will be planted in November.
We are incredibly pleased to announce that the children's hard work and efforts have been acknowledged by the Keep Britain Tidy Team and as a school we have been awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with Distinction. Well done, Eco-Councillors and Kingfisher! We are incredibly proud of you and can't wait to see what you will achieve this academic year.
Eco-Council 2022-2023
Our Kingfisher Eco-Code
Our Eco-Code is important to us and all staff and children follow these rules around the school brilliantly. Our eco-council created this code during one of their meetings and are very proud of the rules which they created. The children are even starting to implement this code at home too!
Well done, Kingfishers!
At Kingfisher Primary School, we care about our environment! We love our school and our world and want to make it as sustainable as we can. To do this, we need to:
- Remember to sort our rubbish and recycle everything we can.
- Never drop litter and, if we see it, pick it up, sort it, and wash our hands.
- Help spread the word about climate change, the impact it has on our environment and the need to recycle.
- Turn off the lights when we leave our classes.
- Use a dimmer setting for our lights where we can.
- Make sure adults switch off their laptops and the whiteboards when they are not in use.
- Tend to our plants and plant more trees and seeds around the school.
- Be kind to our environment and our friends.
- Treat the wildlife around the school how we would like to be treated.
- Be the best that we can be!
'Litter'al Heroes
Litter Picking is something which our children have really taken pride in this year. It has
been lovely to see how many children have been getting involved and helping to maintain our school grounds. Mr Hayward has been incredibly grateful for the help and support. Thank you to everyone who has helped litter pick this year, you are all helping our environment.
Proud Planters
The children are incredibly proud of the different plants they have taken responsibility for out on the planters on our field. It has been lovely to see so many children tending to the different plants and using their initiative to ask to water them at break and lunchtimes.
Currently, we are growing:
- Sunflowers
- Green beans
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Apples
- Pears
The LKDN have been getting involved too! Well done everyone, for the team effort!
Exciting and Enriching Eco-Lessons Around the School.
This year, pupils from all year groups, Reception and Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 have all been participating in Eco-Lessons to enrich their curriculum.
Cracking Carymoor!
Some classes were privileged enough to have Gary from Carymoor visit and learn all about the need and importance to recycle, reduce and reuse rubbish and which bins to use correctly. It was lovely to attend his whole school assembly and hear the discussions stimulated on the playground after his visit.
Year 1 Bug Hunts
Year 1 loved going outside and learning about the creatures living around the school site. It was lovely to see them classifying them as part of their science and for them to be so respectful about the animals living around them. Well done, Dragonflies!
Lovely Letters!
Year 1 have written some fabulous letters to the Prime Minister about the importance of climate change and the need to act swiftly. They also enjoyed learning about climate change and the impact of different habitats.
Year 3 have also written some brilliant letters to the leaders of the world urging them to do more about recycling and producing less rubbish inspired by the Tin Forest! It was lovely to hear the children sharing their letters so articulately too.
Changing Climates!
Miss Jones did a fabulous job at educating Year 2 on changing climates and the impact the melting ice caps can have on different animals. The children loved measuring the rising sea levels and seeing how this impacted their polar bear friends.
Delightful Debates!
Year 6 did a fantastic job debating whether we should keep using modes of transport due to the effect on the environment. It was lovely to see them articulating themselves so clearly and with some brilliant arguments too!
Fruit Trees Planted!
Our fabulous fruit trees have been planted by some hard working pupils this morning. It has been lovely to see the children so engaged in helping with the planting process and we can't wait to see our fruit blossom on the trees! We are incredibly proud of our apple and pear trees and hope you enjoy looking at them as you enter via the Nursery entrance.
Looking at Kingfisher’s Energy Use
Year 3 and some of our eco-councillors were incredibly fortunate enough to have a visit with Richard who was looking at our energy usage at Kingfisher. He brought with him a thermal imaging camera which the children were ecstatic to have a go with and he answered lots of useful questions about how to reduce energy. Thank you for your time and enthusiasm Richard, the children really enjoyed your visit.
What are we hoping to achieve next?
In a short length of time, we have already started to make a change to our school community. Before the end of the year, we want to:
- Introduce energy monitors for each class who regularly check that lights and computers are turned off when classrooms are left unsupervised.
- Have a plant friendly week, where we focus on caring for our plants and introduce some class plants too.
- Fundraise for an eco-charity.
- Promote energy saving and recycling at home and design posters to encourage parents to help save the environment too!
- Keep our rooms tidy and continue to recycle in school.
- Work as a team to make Kingfisher an even better place to be!
Eco-Council Assembly Update
On 26th January 2023, our Eco-Council led a brilliant assembly updating the whole school on all their hard work so far this year. It was brilliant to see participation from all of the children in delivering the assembly, including our Minnows who are the youngest members of the Eco-Council. Leading an assembly can be very daunting, but we were incredibly proud of the confidence that our young leaders had when speaking and sharing their latest work with their peers. Well done Eco-Councillors, we are all incredibly proud of you and the work that you are doing to improve our school!
What have our Eco-Council achieved already this year?
Our Eco-Council have been working incredibly hard to ensure life at Kingfisher is more sustainable, reduce the amount of energy and develop a more economically efficient school environment. The children have lots of brilliant ideas which they have shared in meetings. Below is a list of some of the improvements they have already made through regular meetings with Miss Broadribb:
• We have already formed our Eco-Council and started to make a change.
• We have already completed a survey to see what we can improve around our school.
• We have created an action plan of targets that we want to achieve this year.
• We have already introduced more bins on our playground and in our classrooms so that we can recycle more.
• We have posters on our light switches and next to computers to remind people to turn off their devices.
• We have ordered some fruit trees which will be planted around our school.
• We have already started to make a change.
Fruit Trees Ordered!
A big thank you to From the Ground Up for confirming our fruit tree order which will be arriving from the week beginning the 6th March. We are incredibly proud to be receiving two apple trees and two pear trees which will make fantastic additions to our school field. We can't wait to get started and begin growing more of our own food and produce at Kingfisher!
Organising our Waste at Kingfisher!
An area we have identified for development at Kingfisher is reducing our waste and recycling more. The children want to be able to recycle more to help save the environment. New bins have been ordered and have arrived to allow the children to recycle more on the playground, as well as in classrooms. A litter picking rota has been organised to give each class the opportunity to take ownership in keeping our playground and school environment tidy and ensure that we are recycling at every opportunity that we get.
