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Eco Schools

We are very proud to have been awarded our 3rd Green Flag in October 2006 for our extensive eco activities within the school and community. Gerry Taylor, Keep Wales Tidy, and Mari Williams, Clean Coasts Project Officer, who assessed the work, stated that they were most impressed with the schools enthusiasm for the programme and excellent work. The school has now full Eco–Schools status and we are on our way to joining the elite group of ‘Permanent Eco-Schools’ in Wales. We were invited to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to receive our Long-Term Award in March 2007. In 2009 we received our Platinum award. We held a special assembly and invited a number of special guests, including BBC Wales television presenter Iolo Williams.

At Pembroke Dock Community School, Healthy Schools, Eco Schools and Sustainable Schools are all interlinked and we develop the three together as they contain many common areas – litter, waste minimisation, energy, water, transport, healthy living, school grounds, global citizenship.

Pembroke Dock Community School Eco Committee Members are elected from each class from Years 1 to 6 on an equal opportunities basis. We meet at least once each half term or more frequently if the need arises. The Eco Committee numbers 60 children, who report back to their classes, prepare Power Point presentations for assembly and produce an Eco Newsletter once a term.

Environmental reviews are undertaken by the Eco Committee and targets decided. Progress is monitored during regular meetings and Action Plans reviewed. We have a whole school approach to all aspects of Eco Schools.
Our School Eco Code is very important to us all in school. We all need to follow a set of rules as a guide to good practice.

The Eco committee members are busy each day with a number of jobs.

Litter picking is undertaken by Year 3 pupils.Year 5 and 6 have been involved in cleaning Manorbier and Freshwater East beaches. Mobile Phones are recycled. Plastic cups from our smoothies and grapes are placed in buckets for collection. Fruit skins and apple cores from the playground are taken daily to the school compost bins. Four water butts have been installed and have proved to be successful. Rainwater is on tap and close to the plants for ease of watering. Newspapers are collected and recycled within school for painting activities. Spectacles are collected and then sent to Third World countries. Paper recycling is undertaken by Year 5 and year 3 members. This is then placed in the paper igloo.

Year 6 and Year 4 pupils are responsible for the daily collection of milk bottles. Empty ink cartridges are collected for recycling. Year 5 collect Year 1 and 2 pupils so they can help feed the birds with seeds and nuts. Bird boxes have been hung on trees.

The new Foundation Phase garden is now ready for use and is regularly used as an outside classroom. The garden will continue developing during this year. Our focus at present is the Outdoor Curriculum.

As part of our outdoor curriculum, Year 5 and 6 pupils have made a comparative study of Manorbier beach and an urban area – Pembroke Dock. We have visited Pwllcrochan to explore the woodland and to discover the delights of pond dipping. We are becoming more aware of the habitats of birds, animals and mini beasts and have a better understanding of how we need to look after our environment. We also studied an organic farm, ‘Little Pencoed’, where Food on the Farm, Habitats and the Story of Milk was the focus. We were amazed that the organic milk travels about 280 miles to arrive back our local Tesco store as yoghurt.

Foundation Phase pupils enjoy visits to the beach, woodland, farm and other outdoor areas weekly. Our school Outdoor Curriculum leader, MrsJ. Hughes, supports this work. We are able to wear the new waterproof protective clothing and Wellington boots purchased last year. This has enabled us to remain dry, warm and clean on the many wet and muddy days we have experienced. Early Years pupils have planted, grown and harvested potatoes. The first crop of potatoes was successfully harvested in June and this was then weighed, and shown, at the Pembroke Show.

Winter flowering pansies were planted by each class, and the eco committee asked each class to be responsible for weeding and watering these plants in the 95 planters. Shrubs were donated by the Countryside Council for Wales and we also used Garden Vouchers from our Sustainable Schools Award to add variety to our planted borders.

Year 5 pupils eagerly hunted for the ‘alien girdled’ snail last spring, as challenged by SCAN. To our huge surprise a number of them were found. In fact our snails were the first to be discovered in West Wales!
We are aware of the support outside agencies are and SCAN have proved very helpful.

Last spring, we began the spring bulb planting and monitoring. In October Year 2 and Year 5 pupils planted a Tenby daffodil and a crocus. They entered each plant's growth and daily weather data onto the SCAN web site, who analyse the data from all participating schools to see if there are any effects from global warming. The flowering bulbs are then a very welcome Mothers Day present!

We are very proud of our achievements, but we all realise this is only the beginning; this work will be with us for the rest of our lives.

Website created by Bev Evans, PDCS, 2008