St. Margaret's Primary Academy in Lowestoft has received a "highly commended" in recognition for its submission to the Greenest County Awards 2023. The awards showcase the efforts of individuals, communities, businesses, schools, and third sector organizations in Suffolk who are at the forefront of addressing the climate crisis and preserving our ecosystem.

These are just some of the activities that St. Margaret's 'Eco Council' and its students have undertaken in the past year.

Growing their own food

The school allotment has been used by students to cultivate and harvest strawberries, potatoes, spinach, and tomatoes. The tomatoes were then donated to the school kitchen to be transformed into nutritious snacks for break time.

Biodiversity In the school grounds

St. Margaret's Primary Academy participated in The Queen's Green Canopy initiative by planting more than 60 trees on the school grounds. Additionally, the students have designated a wild area named 'The Secret Garden' where a pond with newts, a small meadow of wildflowers, and a bug hotel have been set up to promote the growth of wildlife, encouraging nature to thrive.

Educating each other about plastic

The school 'eco council' lead an assembly to highlight the massive Issues surrounding the amount of plastic that ends up in our seas.

The school pledges to stop single use plastics in the school kitchen, ordered re-fillable glue sticks and all children use re-usable water bottles. The school eco council also regularly litter pick in the playground to stop plastic waste ending up in the local river and then into the ocean.

St Margarets' Forest School Leader Ben Heffernan is very impressed:

“I feel the greatest success has been how much engagement it has created from students who want to help with all things eco at break and lunch. We have actually had to order more green jackets due to so many children wanting to be part of this movement.”

The school's commitment to being eco-friendly remains strong as they gear up for the next academic year with new initiatives. The addition of a composting bin and a polytunnel is a significant step towards creating a sustainable environment, and the school is excited to continue their eco-school journey at full speed ahead motivating its students to become responsible global citizens and contribute to a better tomorrow.

Read about the REAch2 response to the environment in our Five Year Strategy.