Green Flag award for Kilgraston
Kilgraston is delighted to have been awarded our first Eco-Schools Scotland Green Flag Award. The Eco-Schools Green Flag is a global award given to young people making a positive environmental impact.
The award judges praised Kilgraston pupils on their commitment and determination, with specific mention to how Kilgraston’s Eco-Code gives a clear message of our mission in how to contribute to the solutions of climate change.
Kilgraston’s stunning countryside campus in rural Perth is already home to red squirrels and a myriad of wildflowers and native trees. Pupils in our Junior School have been monitoring the growth of a hedge, planted in 2009 and now home to many animals and birds.
Our recent COP26 Activities Fortnight also received high praise, as it allowed the students to learn about marine conservation, sustainability and to think about the future.
Kilgraston’s Eco-Committee have been dedicated to achieving the Green Flag Award. Dr Phillips, Kilgraston’s Head of Geography said:
“This has been a long time coming! Our original Action Plan pre-dates the first lockdown, so it is to the credit of the girls in the Eco-Committee that they have been able to maintain their focus on achieving this award, and keep the faith that we could get there in the end. We have to renew this award every two years, though, so this is just the beginning…”
Kilgraston attends schools conference
Kilgraston pupils Phoebe and Katie recently attended a schools’ conference where the discussion centred around steps, we could take to improve the world. The European Sacred Heart Schools Conference saw pupils from Sacred Heart schools around the world take part virtually in stimulating workshops and lectures looking at ways we could work together to protect our planet.
In the breakout sessions, Katie and Phoebe spoke about how they were both members of the school eco committee and how our the fortnight of activities in school during COP 26 helped Kilgraston pupils become better informed about the environment. They also mentioned various school campaigns we have undertaken such as the campaign against single use plastics.
For months now, Kilgraston’s glass corridor has been a sea of colour and powerful messages regarding the environmental issues we are currently facing. In one of the breakout sessions, Katie and Phoebe highlighted this project and how it helped to send daily reminders to the school community about the beauty of the natural world and the creative and informative lessons the glass corridor has given us all.
As well as sharing our own initiatives, the event also gave the opportunity to hear from other schools and Sacred Heart representatives including two from Sacred Heart United Nations NGO Office. So, with luck some of what was discussed at the event, could be filtered through to the headquarters of the United Nations.
Kilgraston’s Eco-Committee - the Plastic Free School award
Kilgraston’s Eco-Committee delivered an assembly this week on Surfers Against Sewage. Read more below:
Surfers Against Sewage was set up in 1990 by a small group of people who were appalled by the conditions of some of Britain’s coastal waters.
Since then, they have been constantly active, organising beach clean-ups and campaigning for better regulations, and are now turning their attention to the marine plastic problem.
More than 12 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the ocean every year, and Surfers Against Sewage are now campaigning to stop that.
One of Surfers Against Sewage’s newer projects is the Plastic Free Schools Award, towards which Kilgraston is now working.
We have already cut down on the number of single-use plastics used in school, but the Eco-Committee have more in store to help us to become as plastic free as we possibly can.
Please help by cutting down on your use of single-use plastics, and by donating to Surfers Against Sewage at: www.sas.org.uk/donate.
Written by Eco-Committee members Upper Four’s Phoebe and Alexandra
COP26 week two activities
It’s week two of Kilgraston’s COP26 inspired events and as world leaders made a barrage of pledges, staff and pupils signed up to our own Tree of Promises. Headed up by Mrs Saunders, promises to the planet were gathered and displayed on a tree in the glass square. We have all been encouraged to commit our own pledges to pen and paper, adding it to the tree this week and in months or years from now, we will review how we have managed to keep to these promises and the impact it has had. Examples of promises include:
-I will buy less out of season food from different overseas countries.
-Buy clothing from sustainable brands or second hand.
-I will lift share
One of the most difficult-to-replace sources of single-use plastic waste is cling film. So as part of COP26 Activities Fortnight, the Eco-Committee and Dr Phillips held a beeswax wrap workshop to show one way in which you can make your own reusable alternative out of beeswax.
Sacred Heart ambassador, Ann Miller, also caught up with the eco committee via Zoom to discuss their progress and there was also a display of ‘Seaspiracy’ in the Geography rooms.
A special mention to Lower Sixth’s Manon for her outstanding Sixth Form lecture last week related to cop26 and our need to look at food for the future.
Find out more about last week’s events here.
Kilgraston COP26 activities
During the two weeks of COP26, the senior school Eco-Committee is running a series of activities that are intended to be fun, and to encourage as many as people to take part, but that are also intended to be educational and to make people think. These activities have ranged from a scavenger-hunt style quiz around the school buildings, collecting food waste at lunchtime, and launching a ‘Future Visions’ art and writing competition, with more to come next week.
Ruby Forbes, the Eco Prefect, said: “As part of the Eco-Committee, I was keen for us to take the opportunity of COP26 being held in a Scottish city to start activities all throughout the school, to try and help our school community gain greater awareness of our climate crisis and what steps we have the power to take to try and solve it. The activities have been really successful so far, and we’re really looking forward to what we’ve got planned for next week.”
Look out for more COP26 eco-events next week including representatives from Kilgraston attending the COP26 mass. In the meantime, read this article more information on other eco committee activities.
Biodiversity bonanza
Kilgraston’s Glass Square is right at the centre of the School, a corridor ’roundabout’ directing pupils and staff in several directions. What better place then to host a vast mural, depicting personal interpretations of images from nature, designed to highlight the inter-dependency of the planet’s lifeforms?
English teacher, Mrs Saunders, had the idea, asking every pupil and staff member to add their bit for the impressive installation, hoping to create something that would make David Attenborough proud, urging: “Let us fill the space by painting paradise with a biodiversity bonanza.”.
Covid restrictions limited numbers which could congregate at one time, however, a strict booking scheme ensured Junior, Senior, Sixth Form and all boarders had their chance with a brush: “It’s very therapeutic,” commented U6s Anna, “it makes you stop and think and really visualise how everything in the natural world is connected.”
The mural will be continually updated and, hopefully, available for visitors to see and enjoy in the not-too-distant future.
Eco Committee launches Kilgraston Tattie Champion competition
The senior Eco Committee has been working towards the Keep Scotland Beautiful ‘Eco-Schools’ green flag award.
One of the targets for this year was to grow some of our own food in school. However, lockdown has meant that this was unable to happen, so as an alternative, the Eco-Committee invited all Kilgraston staff and pupils to take part in a home potato growing competition.
The winner will be defined by the person who can grow the biggest total weight of potatoes.
We look forward to finding out who will be crowned Kilgraston ‘Tattie Champ’ 2021 later this year.
Kilgraston supports Show The Love campaign
Kilgraston is showing our support of the national Show The Love campaign by encouraging our pupils, parents and staff to send green hearts to their politicians.
The Show The Love campaign is organised by The Climate Coalition, the UK’s largest organisation dedicated to climate change. It aims to promote people’s involvement in building a cleaner and greener world and this year, it is asking everyone to send a green heart to their elected Member of Parliament to show their love of our planet.
Kilgraston has an on-going commitment to protecting the planet and Headmistress, Mrs MacGinty, held an assembly focussing on the Show The Love campaign.
In her assembly, Mrs MacGinty showed the video below from the Climate Collation which aims to inspire us to all work together.
Also taking part in the assembly were some of our Upper First pupils who discussed the ways we can help stop climate change, showed us their pictures on the subject and Minnie specifically highlighted the importance of bees to our world.
Being environmentally aware at Kilgraston
Looking after the planet and being environmentally aware are ongoing drives at Kilgaston with Kilgraston’s Headmistress, Mrs MacGinty leading the campaign. In recent years, Mrs MacGinty has led the staff and pupils to make changes to the school and their daily lives in a bid to do our bit to protect the environment.
These have included a wear it again day to promote the use of vintage fashion against fast fashion and its negative environmental impact. There are also regular assemblies on environmental issues and a no idling policy, which means visitors to the school are required to turn their engines off.
In 2020, Kilgraston’s Headmistress, Mrs MacGinty was a finalist at the i25 Awards. These awards celebrate the best in independent school sector, recognising the leading influencers and innovators. In this video, Mrs MacGinty, members of staff and pupils discuss some of these environmental projects and the impact these have made on Kilgraston.
It’s snow go at Kilgraston
