Herefordshire Council has been building on the success of its eco-schools scheme by staging a conference to share good practice and inspire people to commit to becoming even more sustainable.
The county has 87 registered Eco-Schools, putting it in the top five counties in the country for both the percentage of schools registered and the percentage of green flag schools.
The Sustainable Schools Conference: Working together towards the National framework for Sustainable Schools was held at Hereford Racecourse and attended by 84 delegates from 54 schools in Herefordshire and the West Midlands.
Delegates included teachers, head teachers, governors, school secretaries and administrators and representatives from Parent Teacher Associations and bursars all united by an interest in making Herefordshire's schools even more sustainable.
The conference, chaired by Ecoschools champion and sixth form student Jamie Elliot, began with talks from Councillor John Jarvis, Herefordshire Council's cabinet member for the environment and strategic housing and Councillor Phil Cutter, the council's energy champion.
Delegates then attended three workshops from a choice of 13. Workshops covered food and drink, energy and water, travel and traffic, purchasing and waste, buildings and grounds, inclusion and participation, local well-being and the global dimension.
In the afternoon delegates had the opportunity to visit exhibitors and listen to presentations. Ben Ballin from Tide Global Learning spoke on 'Thinking Globally about Sustainable schools' and Pippa Lloyd from Staunton-on Wye Primary School, recently rated as "outstanding", gave a headteacher's perspective on Eco-Schools.
Councillor Jenny Hyde, Herefordshire Council's cabinet member for children's services, said: "It was wonderful so many schools sent representatives to the conference and took this opportunity to share good practice, learn from colleagues and celebrate Ecoschools right across Herefordshire's educational spectrum.
"We had people attending from nurseries, primary schools, secondary schools, pupil referral units and the sixth form college and I would like to congratulate them all on their efforts to be more sustainable," she added.
Following the success of this conference, Herefordshire Council
is planning similar events to promote sustainable schools.
For further information email
eco-schools@herefordshire.gov.uk
or contact Antonia Fitch on 01432 260132.