Another major landmark
has been reached by
Prior's Court young people
in their ambition to
make a difference to the
environment.
Prior's Court reached silver status
in the Eco-Schools scheme at the
end of September, after earning
bronze status in March last year.
Only the top-rank Eco-Schools
Green Flag status now remains to
be achieved.
In recent months, despite the
challenges posed by coronavirus,
activities have continued as
part of the Eco-Schools scheme,
including a plastic-free picnic
during Plastic-Free July and a sitewide litter
pick in September.
While nine of our young
people are on our Eco-Schools
committee, the events in the past
year have featured dozens of our
young people taking part.
Nickie Dunphy, Prior's Court
Purchasing Manager who is
leading on the Eco-Schools
project, said: "Our aim with this
project has been to empower
our young people to make
a difference to the natural
environment around them
by allowing them to lead
on and participate
in direct, positive
action. It has been
brilliant to see
the creativity and
dedication which
has gone into our
projects.
"As part of the steps
towards the silver
award, the Eco-Schools
committee chose to focus on
the topics of water, marine and
litter which are being embedded
into learning and general life
across Prior's Court as we now
work towards Green Flag status."
Any type of school can join
Eco-Schools, but due to the
complexity of the conditions the
young people at Prior's Court are
affected by, members of staff have
produced adapted methods to
meet the criteria to achieve EcoSchools
targets, as to meet the
needs of the young people.
This has included adapting
communication
methods and creating on-site
methods of reaching certain
targets (such as using Virtual
Reality to learn about the 'marine'
theme).
Our green initiatives were also
recognised in the Plastic-Free
Foundation's annual report which
mentioned our plastic-free picnic.
Silver status in Eco-Schools bid
Birdfeeders made
by our young adults
- two of whom have
since moved on
from Prior's Court
- are now keeping
feathered friends fed
in our Countryside
Learning Centre
(CLC).
As part of the
Trade Skills
vocational
stream in
the last
academic
year, young
adults
Peter,
Patrick,
Ricardo and Ben made
birdfeeders.
Our young adults cut, glued,
painted and varnished the
birdfeeders, with the help of Trade
Skills vocational stream Job Coach
Jamie. The tasks enhanced and
generalised the woodworking
skills of the young adults. Over
the summer, Peter and Patrick
transitioned on to new provision.
Now the birdfeeders are in
the CLC, meaning Peter and
Patrick continue to contribute to
Prior's Court life, even after their
transitioning on.
Filling the feeders is a task our
young people are now being
given as part of the Land-based
vocational stream to complement
their learning about animal care.
Feeding birds and keeping a legacy