We are continually looking at opportunities to teach the children through our own example about how we can contribute at school to a producing a greener environment.
Supporting Local Suppliers
We try and support local traders and we source much of our food from local suppliers, particularly our meat which comes from leading Richmond butcher, Armstrongs.
Recycling
We also recycle much of our waste. Every class room and office in the school has a special blue bin for recycling paper and cardboard. Thanks to our local borough we also recycle tin, glass and plastic waste from our school kitchen and around the school as a whole. We hope to expand this recycling to include other areas. Furthermore , we donate school furniture to recycling charities for schools in Africa so this also does not go to waste.
Our school garden produces a promising crop of salad, all of which is used in the school lunches. We also have a compost bin to recycle garden waste and follow the example of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in only using peat free compost in the school garden.
Walk to School
We actively encourage our families to travel to school not using the car. In 2010 over 60% of our families managed this and this was maintained in 2011, so thank you for doing that. This produces a happier and safer environment for the children near the school and alleviates the challenge of parking for any families that do need to drive. To encourage walking to school we participate in the WOW (walk once a week) scheme through which children get a badge if they walk to school once a week for a month without using the car. We also train our Year 6 children in cycling proficiency to enable them to feel safe and confident to ride to school, and provide school bicycles for staff who prefer to bike rather than drive to school.
Greener Upon Thames
The school has signed up to the local Greener Upon Thames initiative to minimise the use of plastic bags throughout the school and from our suppliers. Please see www.greeneruponthames.org for full details of this initiative. We were delighted to host one of the greener Upon Thames open evenings at Broomfield in late 2009 at which Susan Kramer MP and Michael Glazebrook, chair of the Kew Society, spoke about this important initiative.