Shinfield St Mary’s Junior School has won carbon neutral gold status from One Carbon World — the charity and global resource partner of the United Nations Climate Neutral Now initiative.
The Borough school was also showcased at the UN Climate Conference in Madrid for its commitment to the environment.
The school has a bio dome with raised beds, plus ones outside, in which the pupils grow fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers, irrigated by two outdoor fish tanks.
There are four eco-teams of more than 100 pupils. Each class has two raised beds — one outside and one in the bio dome —so they can choose what things they want to grow.
The edible produce is used in cooking classes along with eggs from the school’s free-range hens. And contents from the playground food waste bin goes into a composter.
Each year group has its own project. Year sixes are building a biodiversity pond, year fives are creating a butterfly and bee garden, year fours are collecting plastic bottles to build a greenhouse, with year threes constructing a sensory garden. The school has also planted 200 trees and is due to install solar panels on its roof.
“We haven’t done this alone. Thanks must go to Sue and her team at the local garden centre and the charity SAHGA for their support,” said Matt Knight, head of sustainability and ecology at the school.
