Driven by a passionate group of eco-conscious pupils and staff, Framlingham College hosted a fantastic 2024 Eco Week, featuring guest speakers, activities and hands-on environment projects to raise awareness of the current climate crisis.
The week (which ran from Monday 15 April and included Earth Day 2024 on 22 April) was an opportunity to showcase the school’s sustainable values, and encouraged everyone to get involved with conversations about the future of our planet and how we can be more eco-conscious, collectively and as individuals.
Edward Newman, Senior School Head of Geography, said: “Eco-week gives both the Prep and Senior School pupils a chance to reflect and develop their awareness about the environment and sustainability practices. Sustainability is now a hugely influential factor for all businesses and in our personal lives. Green jobs are increasing and to meet our environmental targets, we must engage and actively encourage and make changes across all aspects of life.”
Addressing the school during a special chapel service on sustainability, our school prefects highlighted key climate issues such as the plastic problem, fast fashion, the aviation industry, greenhouse gasses and deforestation, and suggested small changes which we can all make to support our planet.
Starting the week with a fun practical project inspired by our own colony of College bees, Senior School pupils made reusable wax wraps using upcycled off-cuts of cotton fabric and melting beeswax over the material to create an alternative to cling film.
At the Prep School, pupils rallied together to take part in the Great British Clean Up, heading out into the local community to litter pick and tidy up Brandeston village.
Year 4 pupils also met Sarah Clarke, from FCC Environment, one of the UK’s leadings waste management companies, who spoke to geography pupils about the different types of recycled materials, how to identify them, what can and can’t be recycled, the recycling processes, and the importance of recycling.
On Thursday 18th April, Senior School pupils welcomed Claudia Roberts, previous CEO of the Zoological Society of East Anglia (ZSEA), for a special introductory talk on the Zoological Society of East Anglia, their current and future sustainable development goals, how pupils can get involved and advice on further education and careers in Zoology.
Addressing our Geography and Biology students, and those looking at studying Zoology at university, Claudia said: “We are all contributing to environmental impact on the world and sustainability touches many areas of what we do. There are lots of different words for sustainability, from financial sustainability to energy and wastage, to being eco and environmental.
“There has been a huge increase in demand for Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) careers, from small independent businesses to large scale corporations, demonstrating how important sustainability is and how much it matters.
“Within a zoo environment, sustainability and conservation isn’t just about breeding, it’s about managing and maintaining habitats, supporting our customers and being the driving force of education and research too.
“At the ZSEA, we have taken the 17 UN sustainable goals and implement these into our zoos. These 17 goals are a great starting block for other businesses, and us in our personal lives, to be inspired to make one small change towards supporting sustainability for our planet.”
Beyond the College grounds, our Year 9 pupils visited Sizewell B Power Station for an exclusive look into the workings of one of the UK’s leading energy suppliers, helping them to better understand the future of Energy in the UK. They also spent time in the Framlingham Community Garden planting vegetables to help reduce the school’s food miles.
Finishing the week with a ‘wear something green day’ to highlight green issues, the Prep and Senior School came together in a friendly sunflower planting competition to see which pupil can grow the tallest sunflower this year.
Talking about the impact of Eco Week and our Sustainability Committee’s plans for the future, Mr Newman said: “This week has allowed pupils to have conversations around environmental issues and engage in healthy debate. Our various displays around school about meat consumption and the environmental impact of our food, has encouraged many pupils to spark conversation about how to reduce their carbon footprint through diet choices and debate the impact that vegan diet choices, like avocado farming, also has on the environment.
“Last term we planted another 420 native trees in King’s Wood, meaning that the Sustainability Committee has now been instrumental in the planting of over 2000 trees, in partnership with the Woodland Trust, across the Prep and Senior School over the last two years. Looking ahead, we are still working on installing solar panels on the Sports’ Hall roof alongside other recycling and composting projects.”
