Youngsters at Stow Primary School who have been taking climate action in to their own hands are celebrating after being recognised with two national awards.
Stow Primary wins two awards for efforts to tackle climate change
The school celebrated victories in two separate categories at The Primary Awards for Green Education in Schools which aims to assist and encourage environmental education for young people aged 5-11.
The children were commended for their recent efforts to promote sustainable practices and raise awareness of climate change by winning regional awards in both the Green Action Takers and Green Entrepreneurs categories.
Collaborating with the community to raise awareness of climate issues
Their award winning activities saw children of all ages across the school participate in a Disrupter Awareness Week to educate the wider community on a number of key environmental themes.
Daily workshops on topics including food growing, recycling, river cleaning and improving biodiversity were held to allow children from the school to pass on their knowledge and skills to a wide range of groups including parents, community members, other schools in the region, local and national businesses and a partner school in India.
The school also took home the regional Green Entrepreneur award for its successful school-wide food growing project which saw children work closely with the community to research and grow their very own fruit and vegetables and tackle the biodiversity crisis.
Additionally, the school were also close runners-up in two further categories for Green Researchers and Green Creators.
In recognition of their success, the school was awarded prize money of £1400 which will be reinvested into future climate change projects.
The awards follow a number of other recent successes for the school including picking up two awards at last year’s Education Scotland Learning for Sustainability Awards. The school also had the privilege to participate in a number of COP26-related events and initiatives showcasing their commitment to climate action.
Debbie Matthewson, Principal Teacher at Stow Primary School:
“The children are absolutely thrilled to have received more national recognition for all the hard work and effort they put in to making the school and their community more sustainable.
“The school is so passionate about this world issue and these awards are testament to the hard work and collaboration of the pupils, staff, parents and the wider local community to making positive change.”
Carol Hamilton, Executive Member for Developing Our Children & Young People:
“Many congratulations to all the students, staff, parents and community members who have contributed to these fantastic projects, which are thoroughly deserving of the national recognition they have received.
“The pupils at Stow Primary School are a shining example of how members of the community can take positive and meaningful steps to tackle climate change whilst raising awareness about this important issue.”
Peter Littlewood, Director of Young People’s Trust for the Environment:
“Stow Primary is a school we have known about for many years and the environmental education the school provides is absolutely outstanding.
“The children have a real awareness of environmental issues and they’re willing to share their knowledge with the community.
“As soon as they join the school, the children are encouraged to take action to positively impact the planet. This year the nursery children have been working to reduce the waste food being thrown away at lunchtimes.”