3 minute read
How to save the world
Dedicated eco-conscious practices, clubs and policies secured a finalist spot for North London Collegiate in the environmental achievement category of our awards campaign
The youngest pupils help to ensure that hedgehog boarders have comfortable accommodation Many areas of the school grounds have been rewilded to make a nicer environment for bees
Visit North London Collegiate School and you’ll soon see why the community has such a passion for its natural surroundings. Set in 30 acres of greenery, it’s an unusual location for a London day school, something that’s never taken for granted. Its value to the physical and mental wellbeing of the school’s students and the greater good of the larger community is incalculable. It’s why sta and pupils take their duties as custodians of this little piece of pastoral seriously. It’s also why it was the rst school in the world to work with the UN Climate Neutral Now initiative, became one of the founding members of the London Schools Eco Network, and why it works hard to be the leading eco-school in the country.
Working with young people, it’s impossible to underestimate the level of their concern about the threats to our planet. is is the global issue they worry about most, so at NLCS, reducing climate impact is a matter for the whole school community. In the senior school, the student-run Environmental Awareness Society invites external speakers, provokes debate and coordinates whole school campaigns. e Fridays for Future club organises petitions and lobbies opinion formers, while every form has an Eco Rep to percolate information through every year group. Sixth form students participate in Eco-STEAM events, innovating solutions to environmental issues. Even the youngest girls get involved, making hog houses in the grounds for the smaller, shyer, spikier school residents. Meanwhile, the year 11 Green Team audits activities and lets everyone know what needs to be done to gain that coveted EcoSchool status. is journey was kickstarted using OneCarbonWorld to calculate NLC’s carbon footprint. Students were then invited to research the best approach to reducing and o setting it. ey selected Trees for Life, which plants trees in the Scottish Highlands. Now every school trip or ight helps transform a forest in another part of the country. e school began waging a dramatic war on waste, then moved to sustainable energy with greensourced power and solar energy supplying the site. Electric vehicle recharging points and bicycle racks galore were introduced, as well as a ‘no idling’ rule for any cars visiting the site, to diminish air pollution in the local area. anks to the Homerun app, parents and sta now
car share, so there are fewer vehicles visiting the site too. Inside the building, if a room isn’t in use, then neither are its lights, projectors, screens, speakers or computers. Recycling rates have doubled, and the waste produced has been slashed. All containers and cutlery for NLC’s canteen’s takeaways are now biodegradable. Biotechnik recycles our electronic equipment. Even that distinctive brown and blue uniform has a second and third life, thanks to the school’s Parents’ Guild sales.
Whatever challenge the community suggests, if it helps the school’s path to carbon neutrality, it’s taken on. Single-use plastics? ey’re banned. Paper and notebooks? All Forest Stewardship Council approved. Even the lunch menus reduce climate impact: goodbye carbon-heavy beef and lamb: hello vegan, vegetarian and MSC-approved pescatarian options. Small changes perhaps, but as they say, every little helps.
As for the school’s beautiful grounds, some areas have been rewilded to create a haven for bees, who live undisturbed by the silent electric
vehicles the grounds team use. Peat products aren’t used; the garden waste is composted and reused, and the irrigation system is calibrated to minimise water usage.
NLCS’s eco journey is far from over. ere is always work to do. But in doing that work, the young people in the sta ’s care are learning that change is possible if the commitment to change is made. ere’s hope, too, that everyone is working to nurture a future they can shape and in which they can thrive.
