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NOMINATE YOUR SCHOOL FOR WWF's GREEN AMBASSADOR AWARDS 2015 - AND WIN UP TO £5,000!
NOMINATE YOUR SCHOOL FOR WWF's GREEN AMBASSADOR AWARDS 2015 - AND WIN UP TO £5,000!
WWF has launched a nationwide search to find inspirational schools who are putting environmental issues at the heart of their curriculum. As part of WWF’s Green Ambassador Awards 2015, a winning school will be awarded £5,000 and two runners-up will win £2,500 each, to go towards new green initiatives. The winning school will be crowned WWF’s Green Ambassador School of the Year.
From green-fingered gardeners to waste-busters and energy saving heroes, WWF would love to hear about primary schools making a positive difference to the future of our planet.
'I think it's great that schools with "green teams" can be recognised and rewarded for their green projects,' says CBBC presenter Ceallach Spellman. 'Has your school created a wildlife garden to encourage wildlife in the school grounds, or have found a brilliant way to save energy? Whatever your school is doing to help to take care of the environment, enter now for your chance to win.'
Following on from the huge success of the 2014 awards, launched by HRH Prince Charles and sponsored by Alpro, the awards will highlight the fantastic environmental work that the green teams are creating within their school. The prize money awarded is for new green initiatives within school.
The closing date for school entries to the WWF Green Ambassador School Awards is 15 April 2015. Awards for teachers and pupils are already open and a ceremony for all winners will take place at the Living Planet Centre in Woking in July.
Register and apply for your chance to win up to £5,000 for your school and become the WWF's 2015 Green Ambassador School of the Year. The winning school will win £5,000 and two runners-up will win £2,500 to be spent on green initiatives. Shortlisted schools will be notified in May. More information on the Green Ambassador Awards can be found here: wwf.org.uk/about_wwf/working_with_schools/green_ambassadors
Here are some ideas of the green projects schools can be working on to enter the WWF Green Ambassador School Awards 2015.
Food
Does your school have an active gardening club with a veggie patch, or does each class have a role in growing and tasting their own produce? Tell us what your school is doing to help make food more sustainable.
Energy
Perhaps your school has installed solar panels, constructed a wind turbine or installed a wood-burning boiler? We're looking for schools that have taken to heart the need to conserve energy.
Water
Is your school conscious about saving every drop of this precious resource? Perhaps you have developed and installed a rainwater harvesting system, which is helping to water your plants, or maybe you have developed an innovative curriculum project to explore issues of water scarcity? Tell us about your projects.
Encouraging wildlife
Has your school helped wildlife flourish in the school grounds? Perhaps you've installed a fantastic bug hotel or developed a wildlife garden? Whatever your story, we'd love to hear from you.
Waste
Enter now if your school has put recycling and waste management high on the agenda. Tell us about your composting, your recycled fashion event or your innovative ideas for up-cycling!
Need inspiration?
Here's what some of last year's winning schools achieved to win the awards in 2014.
Green Ambassador School of the Year 2014
Poole's Park Primary School in Finsbury Park, London won £5,000 for a green project in their school. As well as recycling, reducing their waste, and being more conscious about energy use, the school set to work on their school garden.
Their organic allotment, wildlife pond and hen enclosure provide them with the opportunity to teach pupils about growing plants, wild habitats, lifecycles and much more. Through their Saturday volunteer events and open-days, they have given children and adults from the wider community the opportunity to explore alternative learning experiences, which has in turn instilled new confidences, raised self-esteem and encouraged cohesion.
Poole's Park have a passion and commitment to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to grow up connected with nature and learn through being in their natural environment.
Green Ambassadors Encouraging Wildlife Award 2014
Heald Place School in Manchester won £2,500 towards a green project in their school, for transforming a disused and overgrown plot of land near their school into an amazing nature garden.
All of the school got involved in the project – from the very youngest making bird feeders and planting sunflowers, to the older children planting vegetables and making bug apartments out of bottles, plant pots, sticks, straw and paper!
The range and quantity of wildlife that have made the garden their home is impressive, but the benefits of the garden go far beyond the fences. The project has benefited the school children and the local community, with residents having picnics and even growing their own food there too!
Green Ambassadors Energy Award 2014
West Wittering Parochial Primary School near Chichester, West Sussex won £2,500 towards a green project in their school, for encouraging their pupils to create their own green projects through investigations, research and engaging with others.