Charlie Wardill, nursery manager at Heriot Hill Nursery in Edinburgh, said, 'We asked children, staff and parents to bring in recyclable materials that could be used to create the mosaic, such as tiles, bottle tops, beads and broken crockery. An artistic parent helped children with the main design, which was based on recycling. We really tried to involve the whole nursery in the project.'
The Eco-Schools programme provides a framework to help schools become more environmentally aware and more sustainable, while encouraging children to take responsibility for the future of the environment.
Ms Wardill said, 'We've been part of the Eco-Schools project since March 2006 as we wanted to be more environmentally aware. We have other activities going, such as an energy-saving plan, paper and plastic recycling and a vegetable garden. We're also trying to involve parents and make them become more conscious of the environment and how they get to nursery, for example. Hopefully by summer we will have the green flag and be recognised as an Eco-School.'
The green flag is the top award available in the Eco-Schools programme for schools that can show they have met a range of criteria such as developing an action plan, linking environmentally- friendly activities to the curriculum and involving the whole school and the wider community.
Schools in Scotland are entitled to apply for a one-off grant of 250 from the Scottish Executive grant once they have received an award, which must be spent on assisting the project.
For more information go to www.Eco-Schools.org.uk.
