Sustainability Champions: St George’s Receives Eco-Schools Green Flag 

This year, St George’s have led the way in early years environmental education and sustainability. We’re so proud of all we’ve achieved and our efforts have been recognised with the prestigious, internationally recognised Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation.  

The Eco-Schools programme, established in 1994, has been inspiring young environmentalists for over 30 years. It has grown into a global movement, with Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation awarded to settings in more than 100 countries. In England alone, the programme reaches over 1 million young people each year, empowering them to make a positive impact on our planet.  

At St George’s, staff members took responsibility for making our setting more sustainable by introducing new recycling procedures, including food waste caddies in every childcare room which the children scrape leftover foods into, and committing to purchasing toys and equipment made from natural materials or recycled plastics where possible. Our Staff Development Lead, Deborah Smith, led us through the eco-schools programme with great passion and even introduced a wormery, a living wall, bird feeders and a batbox to increase the biodiversity of our setting.  

The children proved you’re never too young to make a difference, and got involved by going on local litter picks, growing fruits and vegetables in their allotment, taking turns being the ‘light monitor’, and engaging in learning activities around travel and transport, energy and water conservation.  

Speaking about our achievements, Our Business Manager, Morgane Glew said, “We have achieved a lot over the past year and plan to continue and improve on what we’ve done so far. We’ve actually been planning and saving to install a green energy system for a couple of years now and are pleased to have chosen a supplier and will be having solar panels installed on the roof of our building by the end of this year”. 

A parent of Milo, aged 4, stated, “Milo has loved learning about the environment at nursery, he’s now really enjoying helping us in the garden and absolutely loves finding (and handling!) minibeasts when we’re out and about. I’ve been amazed by his understanding of water conservation and recycling from the activities they’ve been doing at nursery, and he now gives us a strong reminder to use our food waste bin at home!” 

Eco-Schools England Manager, Adam Flint, expressed: “Every year, we are amazed by the incredible efforts of young people working together to create a better future for all, as well as the staff who support their efforts. Their collective impact is truly remarkable. If everyone approached the climate crisis with the same level of passion and determination, we could resolve it much faster and make it a problem of the past. At Keep Britain Tidy, we are delighted to recognise their achievements with the Eco-Schools Green Flag.” 

To learn more about the Eco-Schools programme and accreditation, head to www.eco-schools.org.uk.  

Please see examples below of the children’s work and achievements attached.