Eco Update

The school community has been galvanised to tackle the additional eco challenges posed by the pandemic this term.

After half term, the Eco Committee published the latest issue of their online newsletter, The Dodo, full of sustainable ideas including how to make your own face mask; they also implemented a recycling point for anyone using disposable face masks and started selling reusable masks, with all profits going to charity.

Determined to minimise waste during the festive season, pupils lobbied to dispense with crackers at Christmas lunch, while Young Enterprise students, inspired by the circular economy, designed eye-catching ‘plantable’ festive cards made of paper embedded with seeds, which grow back as flowers and herbs. Earlier in the term, younger Design & Technology students hit the headlines with their zero-plastic, flowering eco-poppies for Remembrance Day.

Students across the school got involved in the online Youth Climate Summit, joining talks, career sessions and workshops over the course of a week; the Fashion & Consumption day was organised by our very own eco champion and textile designer, Ms Wrigglesworth.

As part of our pupil-led Project Zero initiative, we recently commissioned a One-Carbon World study and joined the UN Climate Neutral programme to help us measure and improve our environmental impact, as we continue to strive to become a more carbon neutral school by our 150th anniversary in 2026. Next term, we look forward to our annual Eco Week with plenty of activities to mobilise the whole school community to make a difference.

South Hampstead has been recognised with two national eco awards this year: the ‘best of the best’ for green ideas in The Week, and Independent School of the Year Green Award for Environmental Achievement.